As Eid ul-Fitr approaches, the South Asian community across the GTA is beginning to get preparations underway.
Saira Faisal, an event organizer for South Asian events within the GTA, hosted Bassant Mela on Dholki Beat, an event for Muslim women to shop, dine, play games, and enter giveaways in preparation for Eid.
“We organized different stalls to give Muslim women a chance to do shopping before Eid ul-Fitr,” she said.
The market was hosted earlier this year on Feb. 28 at Snelgrove Community Centre in Brampton.
There were jewellery, clothing, mehndi and other booths for guests to enjoy.
“We had decoration stalls, clothing and shoe stalls, mehndi stalls, and we also had a lot of giveaways,” Faisal said.
There was also a variety of South Asian food booths for women.
“This event was only for ladies specifically, and they enjoyed it a lot,” Faisal said.
“The event was a hit,” she said.
The event was sponsored by 13 businesses across the GTA. Tickets were $25 and included dinner for the guests.
Samina Mughal, the event manager of Basant Mela on Dholki Beat, said that the event was successful beyond their expectations.
“We were not expecting that this event would be so successful, as a lot of females purchased clothes, jewellery and shawls, and vendors also sold many things, so they get a lot of benefits,” she said.
Mughal said the vendors are leaving happily because they have sold clothes and jewellery and made an extra profit.
The event was organized for the pre-preparations for Eid ul-Fitr, which is coming after the month of Holy Ramadan.
As Ramadan is a busy month for the Muslim community, they have less time for shopping during the month. For that reason, the event was organized for women to make early preparations, Mughal said.
There were a variety of clothes, including Afghani dresses, available at the event, and a 50 per cent sale on every piece of clothing and jewellery.
Maliha Ayaz, the owner of one of the clothing booths, Master Collection, said that her business often offers special discounts around the time of Eid for customers to take advantage of.
“We have all kinds of traditional dresses, including Afghani dresses and jewellery, so when Eid season is near, I used to make people buy by selling them and giving them 50 per cent discounts and giveaways,” she said.
Ayaz said her business found great success at the event, and that she enjoyed the South Asian food, too.
“I feel so blessed that I chose to come here,” she said.