A seemingly endless supply of tabouli, hummus, quzi and majou’a was on the menu for the 100 lucky people who had a sought-after ticket to the Syrian dinner in Athabasca April 4.
The scents of cardamom, peppers and garlic wafted from the basement of the Athabasca United Church as volunteers helped the Halawa-Aldarbi family serve traditional foods from their homeland.
Athabasca Syrian Support Group member Shirley Stashko said the family along with a dedicated crew of volunteers had been preparing the dinner for three days.
“It was hours and hours and hours and hours of work, but the Halawas are just so excited that everybody is here and that they’re enjoying the food,” she said. “They’re just so happy back there (in the kitchen).”
All profits of the event went directly back into a fund to sponsor Syrian refugees in the community. In addition to the Halawa-Aldarbi family, the committee brought a man to Athabasca who has since moved to Edmonton. The committee is also in the paperwork stage of bringing that man’s brother and another member of his family.
“Of course this is a fundraiser, but also our hope is to introduce people in Athabasca to Syrian culture and to bring people together,” she said. “And just giving Athabasca something it’s never had before. You can tell. We were sold out within a week of getting the word out. We had so many people who wanted to come, and we had to say ‘sorry, the tickets are all gone.’”
Though family did not want to speak to the newspaper, though Stashko said they were happy with the dinner.
Athabasca Syrian Support Group member Henrik Asfeldt said the food was delicious, and there was certainly demand for more tickets.
“It was a big production,” he said.
Will it happen again?
“I don’t know,” Asfeldt said. “There’s been talk of it, rumours that it’s happening. But they didn’t originate with us. We’ll have to see and decide. Given the demand for the tickets, we may. But it hasn’t been decided yet.”
In the meantime, people can still enjoy foods prepared by Mohammad Halawa and Suhair Aldarbi at the Athabasca Farmers Market or by pre-ordering from them at [email protected].
Donations to the Athabasca Syrian Support Group can also be made at www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/38993 — the site will automatically issue a charitable tax receipt.
