Past Events:

2009 - 2008 - 2007

 

Liverpool city Lights up as thousands turn up
for 11th Chand Raat Eid Festival 2009

 

 

‘This year the event has exceeded my expectations - I think this is the best event which celebrates Eid in Australia – absolutely brilliant’ – Festival attendee

The suburb of Liverpool in New South Wales lit up in excitement and joy as thousands of people came to celebrate the ending of Ramadan and start of Eid-ul-Fitr at Whitlam Leisure Centre, Liverpool (Sydney).

Eid is one of biggest events on the Islamic calendar and Chand Raat Eid Festival is the most anticipated event for the Muslim community in NSW as it is the only one of its kind event in Australia. The event started at 6.00pm and ended mid night. This year more than 100 stalls were placed including traditional & designer clothing, variety of delicious food stalls, handicraft, Mehndi (Henna), jewelry, men and women accessories, photography booth, children rides and games.

People at the festival enjoyed shopping at the stalls, eating mouth-watering food and meeting family and friends. All visitors at the Chand Raat Eid Festival 2009 had the opportunity to enjoy entertaining performances on stage, Naat & Nasheed performances, raffle draws and fun-filled trivia game activities hosted by Miss Sarwat Hassan. The crowd stood to applaud the great performances by the children on stage.
Hon Laurie Ferguson, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services and Ms Wendy Waller, the Mayor of Liverpool City Council were the respected guests of the occasion along with many other community representatives. ‘The Chand Raat Eid Festival promotes harmony and equality to recognise the achievements and acknowledge the contributions from people within our local community’, said Ms Wendy Waller, the Mayor Liverpool Council.

Hon Laurie Ferguson acknowledged the efforts of the organisers and highlighted the significance of Eid in Australia ‘ Eid ul-Fitr is celebrated by over 340 000 Muslim Australians from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, as reflected in tonight’s festivities which include participants from the Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghani, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Turkish and Lebanese communities’ he said.

As the event fell on the weekend there was an overwhelming influx of thousands of people at the Whitlam Centre and the Council Parking. At one stage the security had to stop the public entering from the memorial avenue in order to manage the huge turn of vehicles and public.

And when the Eid was announced to be observed on Sunday, the joys and the enthusiasm of the youth was something to watch. The young boys, shaking hands and dancing on the stage, were congratulating each others for Eid ul Fitr.

The organizers Mr Syed Atiq ul Hassan and Mrs Surraya Hassan acknowledged that the Chand Raat Eid Festival has grown immensely since it first commenced 11 years ago, as they have seen the event grow on a much larger scale with the event locations being changed to meet the overwhelming response and growing capacity of the event; and promised to accommodate the tens of thousands who attend the event each year.

A special award presentation was held on the night by the organisers, and awards were given by Hon Laurie Ferguson and Ms Wendy Waller to the special stall holders, sponsors and media partners who have supported the event since it first commenced.
The organisers thanked all the stall holders and the major sponsors Liverpool City Council, Western Union, Lebara Mobile and Zyka Restaurant for their support.

The Chand Raat Eid Festival 2009 Committee thanked the entire community for their continuous support and looked forward to seeing all the community members next year on the 12th Anniversary of the Annual Chand Raat Eid Festival in 2010, which is expected to be a spectacular and extravagant celebration.

 

Video Coverage of Chant Raat Eid Festival 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2008 Event

 

Over 10 thousand people attend the Eve of Eid Festival, Sydney (Australia)

 

Thousands of people from the Muslim community living in Sydney turned up to attend the most awaited festival of the year, which marks the end of Ramadan.

 

Chand Raat Eid Festival 2008 marked its 10th anniversary with traditional festivity and cultural fervour.

 

The festival was held at Whitlam Leisure Centre, Liverpool (Sydney) NSW, Australia and drew large crowds from various different ethnic communities. 

 

This year’s festival attracted between 10 to 12 thousand people from across Sydney, Canberra and its outskirts. Thousands of people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Lebanon attended the event.

 

Festival Organiser Mr Syed Atiq ul Hassan said the management expected a tremendous turnout in the festival’s 10th year celebrations, and the event lived up to expectations
“We have had a decade of huge successes and today just proves that our hard work and dedication to organising this event for the community has paid off, as the crowd gathered here tonight, the stall holders and our sponsors are all happy, Mr Hassan said.

The event started at 6.00pm and ended late night (about 1.00am).  This year more than 100 stalls were placed indoors and outdoors. There were various stalls including traditional & designer clothing, variety of delicious food stalls, handicraft, Mehndi (Henna), jewelry, men and women accessories, amusement rides and games.

All visitors at the Chand Raat Eid Festival 2008 had the opportunity to enjoy entertaining children performances, Naat & Nasheed (religious recital) performances, raffle draws and fun-filled trivia game activities hosted by SBS TV journalist Miss. Sarwat Hassan and SBS Urdu Radio service presenter, Mr. Rehan Alvi.

 

The organizers Mr Syed Atiq ul Hassan and Mrs Surraya Hassan thanked the stall holders, sponsors especially Liverpool City Council, Muslim Community Co-operative (Australia), Western Union  and SBS Radio (Australia) being the major supporters of the event.

Chand Raat Eid Festival is annual event. Chand Raat which means night of the moon in the Urdu language marks the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid ul Fitr. Since the Islamic Calendar is lunar, Eid ul-Fitr is on the first of Shawwal - the tenth month of the Islamic year.

 

The aim of celebrating the Chand Raat Eid Festival is to promote traditional Eid celebrations in multicultural Australia among the younger generation; especially those born and raised in Australia. It is a unique event as it is held at night like the Chand Raat late night shopping in various parts of the Muslim world. It also provides the opportunity for many Australians unaware of such festivities to get together and enjoy the various different cultural exhibitions. The entry to the event is free.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2007 Event

 

Chand Raat Eid Festival 2007 Video

 

 

Muslim Families, in thousands, celebrate annual Chand Raat Eid festival in Liverpool

 

People from various backgrounds, attended the 9th annual event which broke past records’

 

The event was once again described as the ‘best ever’ & marked a great success

View Photos of the Event

 

Sydney (Tribune International, by Sarwat Hassan): The Muslim community particularly South Asians in Sydney celebrated the 9th annual Chand Raat Eid Festival with traditional festivity and cultural fervour. This year the festival was held in Whitlam Leisure Centre, Liverpool (Sydney) NSW, Australia and drew large crowds of various different ethnic communities and was estimated to be largest turn-out with more than 8,000 people attending. People came from far distances of Sydney, Canberra and its outskirts. Thousands of people from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and Lebanon attended this unique and popular annual event organised by Chand Raat Eid Festival 2007 Committee.

 

The Chand Raat Festival 2007 was held on the 11th of October 2007 at Whitlam Leisure Centre, Liverpool (Sydney) NSW. The event started at 6.00pm and ended late night (about 1.00am).  This year more than 70 stalls were placed including traditional & designer clothing, variety of delicious food stalls, handicraft, Mehndi (Henna), jewelry, men and women accessories, photography booth, children rides and games.

 

The majority of people at Chand Raat Eid Festival 2007 were delighted and enjoyed shopping at the stalls, eating mouth-watering food and meeting family & friends. All visitors at the Chand Raat Eid Festival 2007 had the opportunity to enjoy entertaining children performances, Naat & Nasheed performances, raffle draws and fun-filled trivia game activities hosted by Miss.Sarwat Hassan. The crowd stood to applaud the great performances by the children on stage. Many people were thrilled after winning wonderful prizes such as Western Union cash money transfer in the raffle draws and gold jewelry in the trivia segments.  

 

Most members of the community personally congratulated the organizers for their efforts and spectacular arrangement. The organizers Mr.Syed Atiq ul Hassan and Mrs. Surraya Hassan acknowledged that the Chand Raat Eid Festival has grown immensely since it first commenced 9 years ago, as they have seen the event grow on a much larger scale with the event locations being changed to meet the overwhelming response and growing capacity of the event; and as promised last year in Campsie NSW it was held in a bigger venue this year. They were pleased at their decision and thanked the major sponsors Liverpool City Council, MCCA, Muslim Aid, Western Union, Payless World Travel and King Crab Restaurant Chain.  

 

The organizers Mr.Syed Atiq ul Hassan and Mrs. Surraya Hassan also thanked all the stall holders along with the local and international media groups for their support.

 

The Chand Raat Eid Festival 2007 Committee thanked the entire community for their continuous support and looked forward to seeing all the community members next year in the 10th Anniversary of the Annual Chand Raat Eid Festival 2008, which is expected to be a spectacular and extravagant celebration.