MACFEST presents a brilliantly diverse events programme for Ramadan and Eid

Featuring free online poetry performances, live musical shows and culinary journeys around the world, MACFEST’s Ramadan and Eid programme offers a joyously eclectic range of events throughout the month, followed by a series of unmissable celebrations for Eid al-Fitr.

Running from 2-4pm on Sat 20 May, MACFEST commemorates Eid with a Mushaira and multilingual poetry event led by Muslim women poets from around the UK, including Bradfordian Pashto poet Qadar Khan, German guests Maryam Al-Said, Reem Ibrahim and Ghait Adnan as well as BBC Radio presenter Rubina Khan and several luminaries from the Circle of Literary Friends performing a mushaira in South Asian languages.

Taking place from 1-4pm on Sat 24 Jun at Longsight Library, MACFEST’s women-only Eid-al Fitr celebration promises a feast of fashion, poetry, food and entertainment, with music from DJ Nawara and Deputy Lord Mayor of Manchester Cllr. Yasmine Darr in attendance.

At 6pm on Wed 28 Jun, prodigious 23-year-old Birmingham native Ibrahim Iqbal, known as The Blind Chef, joins recipe developer Zainab Pirzada in an inspiring conversation charting his incredible journey from going totally blind to establishing himself as a revered independent chef through exploring and honing his sensory creativity, as well as sharing the recipes for three of his signature South Asian dishes.

At 6pm on Sat 1 Jul, The Lowry hosts a ‘marvellous Eid musical evening’ starring the Pakistani Urooj Qawal Group and the Moroccan GNAWA singers, alongside Chief Guest Tariq Wazir, General Consul of the Manchester Pakistan Consulate.

For more information and a full schedule of unmissable events with MACFEST, click here.