DANDENONG Park became a multicultural marketplace on Sunday to mark two important events on the Muslim calendar.
The Dandenong Eid Festival is an annual not-for-profit event to celebrate the holy Islamic celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-al-Adha.
A group of brothers and sisters started the event in 2011 to welcome all communities and build bridges of understanding.
On Sunday (3 November) festival-goers visited about 50 stalls adorned with food, clothing, jewellery, Islamic books, toys, show bags and more.
There were rides for kids big and small, cultural programs, a Quran recitation competition, performances, charity auctions, congregational prayers, an animal farm and face painting.
Eid-ul-Fitr is the most important annual Muslim festival and celebrates the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Eid al-Adha is the Festival of Sacrifice – an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ishmael as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep to sacrifice instead.
Eid al-Adha celebrations start after Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
