100,000 people expected as largest Egyptian festival in North America comes to Mississauga
Published February 12, 2024 at 1:40 pm
Organizers of what has quickly become the largest Egyptian festival anywhere in North America have grand goals for this year’s event at Celebration Square in Mississauga’s downtown core.
As they set about ramping up preparations for the third Discover Egypt cultural event to take place at the City Centre venue in Canada’s seventh-largest city, members of the Canadian Egyptian Heritage Association say they expect more than 100,000 visitors to attend the 2024 festival when it hits town this summer.
In a presentation to Mississauga city council to take place on Wednesday, festival director Andrew Fahmy is also expected to tell councillors that organizers are planning on having 100 vendors at the event and they hope to provide a total of more than 250,000 meals.
Last year’s Discover Egypt festival, which was held the last weekend of August, attracted 55,000 people, featured 75 vendors and distributed some 150,000 meals. The first festival, in 2022, drew just over 10,000 visitors.
Last year’s Discover Egypt festival at Celebration Square. (YouTube)
Dates for the two-day 2024 festival have yet to be finalized.
Organizers say they’re eagerly anticipating “hosting Egypt’s cultural magic” in the heart of Celebration Square for the third year.
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They add the event is the largest Egyptian festival in North America, celebrating Egyptian culture, music and traditions.
CEHA is a non-profit organization formed in 2019 that aims to increase Canadian awareness of Egyptian culture and highlight the Egyptian community’s role in and contributions to modern Canada, members say.
“We established CEHA to be the first and cornerstone association for Egyptian heritage awareness in Canada,” members said in an online description of the group.
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