"In that way, Suhoor Fest shows off all the ways in which the Bay Area is "the 'Mecca' of where melting pot and diversity and culture come together," says Abdelfattah, whose stand will be selling his San José restaurant's signature nachos and street tacos."
"Every year, the event ends with a call for everyone to gather together in prayer right before dawn - a beautiful thing to see, Abdelfattah says. He also recognizes that this year's festival is once again happening against a backdrop of tragedy in the greater Muslim world, including Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza and the recent U.S.-Israeli military strikes against Iran."
""There's so much uncertainty right now, and it's just sad the division that we're all feeling in this country on the ground level," Abdelfattah says. "What we want to do [at Suhoor Fest] is just bring people back together during this holy month.""
Suhoor Fest began in 2021 as a small gathering of food trucks in a Newark mall parking lot during Ramadan, created to bring together the isolated local Muslim community during pandemic lockdown. The festival has expanded significantly and now represents the Bay Area as a hub of cultural diversity and community connection. Beyond its role as a food celebration, Suhoor Fest maintains spiritual significance, concluding each year with communal prayer before dawn. The 2026 edition will occur on March 7 at NewPark Mall in Newark. Organizers emphasize the festival's importance in bringing people together during challenging times, including current geopolitical tensions affecting the Muslim community.
Read at Kqed
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