Multicultural Festival | Arabic Language and Culture Association of South Australia Inc.

ALCASA on Stage at the 2015 Multicultural Festival!

by Editor | Nov 9, 2015 | ALCASA Public Activities, Children's Group, Multicultural Festival

ALCASA members and friends had a wonderful time on Sunday 1 November in Rundle Mall celebrating and experiencing the Arabic language and culture. It was the second time for ALCASA at the biennial South Australian Multicultural Festival. Unlike our previous experience as a stall holder, this year we organised two hours of activities for Festival goers to participate in.

First, we run a number of simultaneous activities for one hour in the festival activity area. The talented Linda Bell from Modern Henna drew exquisite oriental shapes with her henna cones. Dedicated members of ALCASA helped people to write their names in Arabic and offered each of them a crafty name tag in Arabic to take home. A food challenge, provided Festival goers with the opportunity to discover some main ingredients used in the Arabic traditional cuisine. There was also the opportunity to play the derbake (a small drum) and to make one for children to take home.

Our second activity was exclusively run by the ALCASA Arabic Story Reading In Adelaide, Children’s Group. Led by Hassan and Nadia, the children delighted the audience by playing traditional Arabic games that they usually play in their monthly meetings. Festival goers were invited to join in.

The third activity was an awesome Belly dancing workshop offered by ALCASA’s great supporter The Belly Dance Academy of Nayima Hassa n. At first, Nayima performed a couple of solos to the delight of the large number of people who gathered around the wide activity area to enjoy the show. Then, about 20 young girls twirled and shimmied happily guided by Nayima and her well designed instructions and moves made to captivate the attention of all, but particularly the young children.

It was a great family fun day for all. Many thanks Multicultural SA for organising such a vibrant and colourful event.

Fayrouz Ajaka

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ALCASA at the 2015 Multicultural Festival, Sunday 1 November 2015

by Editor | Oct 27, 2015 | ALCASA Public Activities, Multicultural Festival

This Sunday 1/11, ALCASA members are offering Arabic cultural demonstration from 11:00 am to 12:00 during the 2015 Multicultural Festival (Activity Area 2). ALCASA members will help Festival goers to write their names in Arabic. Children will have the opportunity to make a derbake (tabla) and to participate in a quiz about Arabic food ingredients. A henna artist will also be available during this time slot.

From 12:30 to 1:00 pm, ALCASA is running children’s traditional games in the open Activity Area. This will be followed by a belly dancing workshop with the Belly Dance Academy of Nayima Hassan.

Come and join us on Sunday and make sure to dress up in colorful Arabic traditional dress. For more info about the 2015 Multicultural Festival visit http://www.multicultural.sa.gov.au/multicultural-festival

Fayrouz Ajaka

Multicultural Festival 2015

by Editor | Oct 14, 2015 | ALCASA Public Activities, Children's Group, Multicultural Festival

ALCASA is taking part in the vibrant Multicultural Festival 2015 in Rundle Mall on Sunday 1 November.

ALCASA will be in Activity areas 1 and 2 from 11:00 am to 1:45 pm. We will present cultural demonstration activities, children games and a belly dancing workshop led by the talented Nayima Hassan.

Here is a link to check on ALCASA’s previous participation in the 2013 Festival .

ALCASA at the Multicultural Festival 2013

by Editor | Nov 11, 2013 | ALCASA Public Activities, Multicultural Festival

The inaugural Adelaide Multicultural Festival, held on November 3, was a hype of music, colour, food and traditional dress from over 40 cultures from around the globe and the event went a long way to promote cultural awareness and respect for diversity amongst the South Australian communities.

More importantly, the festival was a fantastic opportunity for ALCASA to announce its presence, showcase its aims and vision and demonstrate the enthusiasm and commitment of its members. Through our activities our association hopes to strengthen the understanding and appreciation for the Arabic language and culture and we managed to do this very successfully at the festival. It was wonderful to see the many people visit our stall and not only sample the variety of food on offer, but also enquire into the customs and traditions of the Arabic people.

One of the main interests in the stall was the delicious sweets on offer. For those lucky enough to get in early, they were able to sample Richard’s almond meal biscuits, Hassan’s baklawa, Fayrouz’s date slices (maa’mul) and Sigrid’s sesame biscuits (barazek). Later on there was the opportunity to compliment these with Hayan’s traditional Arabic coffee, Ros’s semolina and coconut cakes (harissa) and Carly’s rice pudding (ruz bi halib) were very popular. We were also lucky enough to have Mariam around to share and promote her vine leaves which were just like the ones mum makes.

The community also got a language lesson by being encouraged to say some basic words in Arabic and being shown how to write their name. The young children loved having their name written on their arm by Rua in bright colours and sparkles and most people were able to have their name written by Rana beautifully in Arabic calligraphy on a card or even on a badge to wear proudly on their shirt. Later in the day, ALCASA’s members were initiated into belly dancing and the public were entertained by the talented Nayima Hassan who devoted generously her Sunday’s afternoon to support ALCASA’s activities. Lots of fun was shared by all.

The bright sunny afternoon continued to spread harmony amongst the many cultures and it was great to see Rundle Mall so abuzz with people of all races and background enjoying such an excellent event. We would to thank the organisers of the event for putting on a great day, but most importantly thank our wonderful members for their outstanding contribution and cooperation in the planning, preparation and facilitation of the ALCASA stall. Well Done!