Arab Heritage Month was celebrated at HabibiFest on Saturday at The Woodland in Maplewood.
About 2,000 people attended the free, family-friendly community celebration that featured live performances, including dancing by Ald-Dal’ouna Dabka, Tanoura dancing, belly dancing by Liubov Bargg and musician Zafer Tawil playing the oud.
The event also included local artists and vendors, an interactive children’s workshop and a variety of food.
HabibiFest was created to honor the cultural traditions of the Arab world, and provide an opportunity for all to enjoy and celebrate together as friends and neighbors,
according to SOMA Cross-Cultural Works, which organized the event. Soma Cross-Cultural has also organized Lunar Fest, Diwali Fest and HAPI Fest. Habibi means “beloved” in Arabic.
“It was our first ever but we would like to make it annual,” said Mona Karim of SOMA Cross-Cultural Works, which is an all volunteer non-profit organization.
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