Harsha Ketavarapu, Life & Arts Reporter
October 4, 2022
A canvas adorned with faint, wispy clouds capture the sight of a sunset. Next to it, another painting proudly displays a stunning city landscape on one of many bazaar stands. Visitors exchange awed glances as they pass various artworks broadcasted at the first Austin Muslim Culture Fest at Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations hosted the first Austin Muslim Culture Fest on Saturday to celebrate the city’s vibrant and diverse Muslim community. The festival featured a wide variety of food, art, clothing and jewelry vendors, as well as fun activities for children and educational workshops to inspire and empower young Muslim leaders. For the festival’s inaugural year, the council’s executive director Faizan Syed said the event aimed to better represent the Muslim community and build relationships with people from various faiths and backgrounds.
“I realized that Austin — being a cultural capital of Texas that has a booming, diverse Muslim population — should do (a) festival … to really give people an opportunity to break bread with their Muslim neighbors,” Syed said. “We’re hoping that Muslims (and) other faiths will come celebrate the diversity of their Muslim neighbors.”
Read Full Article: https://thedailytexan.com/2022/10/04/celebration-of-austins-first-muslim-culture-festival/