Muslim Students Association hosts ninth annual Family Fair

This past Sunday, the Muslim Students Association hosted their ninth annual Family Fair.

On a windy, temperate afternoon, more than 300 people from Philadelphia neighborhoods gathered on Rodin Field near 40th Street for a few hours of friends and entertainment.

“It’s all positivity here,” said College sophomore and Social Co-Chair Muhga Eltigani.

The Family Fair is “a great place for people to get to know the different cultures and to find out who Muslims are,” West Philadelphia resident Shabana Jafri said, but it is also just a place where people can have fun and get their hands on some barbecue.

This year the MSA reached out to Philadelphians of other faiths by posting flyers in not only mosques and community centers, but also in five local churches. The Family Fair, the organizers agreed, was meant to appeal to the larger Philadelphia community. As an effort to further this goal, the MSA folded their sign that formerly displayed “Muslim Family Fair” to show only “Family Fair.”

The MSA reached out to various other Penn cultural groups to help out, including PRISM and Hillel.

Jafri said she “wished more people knew about it.”

A large colorful moon bounce, a dunk tank, face painting and soccer kept children entertained.

Twins Tauseef and Tafsir, 9, said it was fun getting to bounce around and dunk MSA board members into the freezing dunk tank.

This sentiment was shared by many of the children who crowded around the dunk tank long after the waterlogged board members retreated, and also attracted a few passersby who had children that also wanted to join in.

The event was originally meant to be held the week before, on Saturday March 31, but due to poor weather conditions, was postponed. The MSA social board made an effort to book Rodin Field for other dates, but Sunday was the only option.

South Philadelphian Yussef Geromi thought it was “important for bringing the Philly community together.”

Geromi thought the community could be a bit alienating because it is hard to find other international and Muslim people, and the Family Fair gave many of the Muslims in the community a chance to meet each other.

The MSA crew could not keep the crowd fed as fast as it demanded. At any given time, as many as 40 people were waiting in line for a hotdog or hamburger.

Though there they may have been a few logistical challenges for the fair, from uncooperative weather to a slow food line, Eltigani held she wouldn’t change the fair. “Anything that brings people together, I wouldn’t want to change,” she said.

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