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Ottawa’s barbecue enthusiasts enjoyed a fantastic weekend as the inaugural Halal Ribfest for North America made a memorable appearance in the city.
Situated at Lansdowne Park, the event kicked off on Friday afternoon, continued through Saturday, and was set to conclude late Sunday night. Distinguished from similar gatherings, this festival exclusively featured Halal meat, deliberately excluding pork and alcohol products.
Reema Siddiqi, a member of the festival’s organizing committee known as the Eventzilla Group, expressed her excitement, stating, “It’s truly exhilarating. I think everyone can understand that it’s disheartening to be invited to a celebration and yet not fully partake in all aspects.”
Siddiqi revealed that the festival was established with the aim of crafting an all-encompassing ribfest experience that catered to all attendees, including the Muslim community.
“As ardent food enthusiasts, we used to frequent ribfests regularly, but the full experience was always out of reach due to the absence of halal choices,” Siddiqi explained. “Numerous mainstream Canadian festivals lacked halal options, and that’s essentially where the idea took root.”
Anticipated to journey through 20 cities across North America, the barbecue event commenced with launch events in Toronto and Mississauga the previous summer. Since June, the festival has journeyed across Canada, spanning from Vancouver to Montreal. In the upcoming months, the Halal Ribfest plans to tour Ontario before venturing further south, making stops from Michigan to Florida and finally reaching California. Siddiqi disclosed that the festival has intentions to tour again next year, expanding its reach to encompass even more cities.
