Rain did not dampen spirits at Oldham’s first Eid in the Park today as crowds flocked to the event.
Starting this morning with Jama’ah, or an Eid prayer congregation, then from just after 10am the event opened up with stalls and rides.
Local celebrity chef Salt Bhai even made an appearance at the event, making sushi.
Organisers were at Berries Field Park, in Chadderton, from 4.30am to set up the event ready for the morning, after some of the planned ride companies did not turn up.
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Hamid Ali, running on just three hours of sleep, said: “It has been a great success today, the support and the love that we’ve got from the community has been fantastic, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the community and say ‘Eid Mubarak’ – thank you.
“It was a great atmosphere, the love and the support, as we’ve got from day one, has been unbelievable. Everybody’s come together, everyone’s pulled together in one direction.
"This gives us the confidence that when we come back next year with Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha it will be bigger and better.”
While some light rain fell on those taking part in the Jama’ah, Hamid wasn’t phased.
April’s Eid al-Fitr event was cancelled due to a poor weather forecast.
He added: “The rain, in the back of my head there was that little doubt – is the rain going to spoil it like last time?
“But, the thing is, we had faith and we just went with it – we thought: rain, shine, whatever happens we’re going to continue and hopefully the Almighty’s going to look kindly on us, it has been great. We’ve not seen the rain, it’s been brilliant.”
While there were rides including bungee jumping, helicopters, and bumper cars, some rides did not show up.
Hamid said: “The ride side, we had plans for a lot of the rides. Unfortunately they were supposed to come and set up the night before.
“It’s been a learning curve, we’ve learnt a lot, and this has been one of the most disappointing things.”
Hamid said next year better contracts with guarantees would be in place.
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Attendee Bebe Bolarinwa, 33, praised the event and said she was looking forward to the next one.
She said: “Very interesting, exciting, a lot of games to play with. Children are having fun. A good atmosphere, good environment – even the children are excited to be here.”
Rizwan Shoaib, from Coppice, was serving ice cream from Zak’s Ice Cream van. He said the atmosphere at the event was ‘beautiful’.
Rizwan added: “It was very good – a good turnout. Brother Hamid, all praise to him. It was very, very good.”
Local councillor Cllr Ruji Surjan also attended. She said: “It’s been a wonderful event, lots of families, lots of young children enjoying themselves. Thank you again for supporting this event, and I look forward to many more."
She added that the turnout was ‘fantastic’.
The next Eid a-Fitr will take place in early April next year.
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