This article was previously published on CambridgeToday.
Another food festival is coming to Preston at the beginning of August as the Halal Food Festival comes to Cambridge for the first time.
Riverside Park will see over 100 vendors, food stalls and artisans take over Riverside Park from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3 for one of the biggest food events of the year.
"This event will have Halal food from around the world come together for the whole community," said Tasneem Chhadiya, founder of Event Maker.
This will be the first large-scale Halal food event in Cambridge aside from smaller Eid Bazaars that are held annually at the Islamic Centre of Cambridge on Dunbar Road.
Halal is an Arabic word for permissible or acceptable. Food is considered Halal when the animal is slaughtered in a specific way and is free of toxins and other harmful ingredients.
Certain foods like pork and alcohol are not Halal.
Chhadiya notes that there is something for everyone at the event with train rides and bouncy castles for the kids, henna tattoos and live performances.
"Parking is free and entry is free to allow anyone who wants to come be able to enjoy themselves," she said. "This event is about sharing our culture with the community and allowing people to partake in their own culture."
With Riverside Park being a massive space, the event organizers have planned to have a carnival-style event with rides, activities and games.
The event drew some controversy as they were going to perform a live Garba, a traditional Hindu dance, but they were forced to cancel it due to religious concerns.
"Some people contacted me and were upset about this so we had to cancel it," said Chhadiya. "Since it is Hindu, it needs to be done in a prescribed way so we thought it was best to cancel that portion."
Different cultures from all over the world will offer the best food their country has with kabobs, burgers, BBQ, grilled meats and various decadent desserts.
There will be Punjabi food, Muslim food with meat and vegetarian options, noted Chhadiya.
Event Maker has never held an event to this scale outdoors, but is expecting around 5,000 people to come out to celebrate and eat.
"We are really excited to be out in the community again with another event and this will be the foodie event of the year," she said.
Festivities will be on from Aug. 1 to Aug. 3 from noon until 9 p.m. each day.
"Come out and enjoy good food, good music and a fun time," added Chhadiya.
