Halal Fest expects to bring about 20,000 attendees to Naperville's Frontier Park this weekend

Chicago Tribune

6 days ago

The third annual Halal Fest returns to Naperville's Frontier Park this weekend with Halal dishes from around the globe, artisanal crafts from local businesses, camel rides, and traditional dabke and zaffa dances.
Previously known as the Naperville Halal Fest, the Chicagoland Halal Fest will be held from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 8 p.m. Sunday.
About 20,000 people are expected to attend this year, according to the Illinois Muslim Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the event.
'Halal is kind of a way of living,' said Shafeek Abubaker, president of Illinois Muslim chamber. 'Halal in literal meaning, it means permissible by God. But when it comes to food, which is what halal is generally connected with, there is a specific way of slaughtering an animal or cooking a food when it comes to the halal regulations.'
Last year, the Naperville event attracted 15,000 people, nearly double the 8,000 who attended in its debut year, Abubaker said. Its success may push the organization to move it to the DuPage Event Center and Fairgrounds in Wheaton next year, he said.
One reason for the event's appeal, Abubaker said, is the diversity it features.
'What this event does is it brings the different cultures and communities within the Muslim community in Chicagoland together at this event,' he said. 'So we try to showcase different ethnicities, cultures, food and merchandise.'
This year the food options will range from Mediterranean by the popular Al Bawadi Grill to Halal burgers from Bumper 2 Burger. Attendees can also find Halal Mexican food at this year's festival, a cuisine that has become more popular in the Muslim community in recent years, according to Abubaker.
'Celebrating the identity, showcasing and supporting small businesses, bringing the community together, allowing people to see the commonalities even when we may look different or pray different — these are the reasons why we do this event,' he said.
Abubaker also thinks the festival's welcoming environment helps contribute to its popularity, noting that 20% to 30% of attendees are non-Muslim. This year they also will be featuring vendors and performers from outside of Illinois, including places like Pennsylvania and Indiana.
One band he is particularly excited about is the Virginia-based group VADA, he said.
'It's comprised of young artists who are actually first generation kids who grew up in the United States but (are) connected with the music called the Qawwali,' Abubaker said. 'And so that's really popular within the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent culture so we will be showcasing them on Saturday evening.'
The Illinois Muslim chamber bills its event as 'the nation's largest halal-themed festival' and says it reflects a growing demand for halal food, products and experiences.
Last weekend, the first summer halal food festival was held in Atlanta. Philadelphia's second annual Philly Halal Food Fest in September 2024 drew more than 6,000, and Houston hosted its second annual Texas Halal Fest in December.
Abubaker thinks the regulations around halal food is part of what's driving this interest nationwide, with requirements including making sure the animal is healthy at the time of slaughter and ensuring the animal's death is quick and humane.
'Even beyond the religious beliefs, there are a lot of people who are even outside of the Muslim community now starting to like or accept halal food, mainly because of the way the meat is being processed,' he said.
Chicagoland Halal Fest is continues as other events in Naperville have been canceled this year. This week, Indian Community Outreach announced that this year's India Day Parade would not be held, a decision made after the organization decided to scale back its day-long celebration due to enhanced safety requirements. The annual Naperville Salute was also canceled this year.
Abubaker said that despite the extra burden that comes with some of the enhanced safety measures from the city — like the clear bag policy and use of metal detectors — organizers wanted to carry on because of its popularity.
'The city of Naperville has been very, very supportive and helpful for us all along,' Abubaker said. 'It is for the safety and security of the attendees, as well as the larger community, so we appreciate and we understand that.'