Arab-American Street Fair Bringing Henna and Hookah to New York

posted on: Jul 7, 2012

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Middle Eastern pop remixes and Arabic song lyrics about love and longing will fill the streets of NoHo Saturday as part of the 10th annual Arab-American & North African Cultural Street Festival.

The event, hosted by the Network of Arab-American Professionals of New York, will draw more than a dozen musicians ranging from a Syrian-American DJ who combines hits from the Arab world with hip-hop and reggaeton, to a more traditional Egyptian crooner.

The festival will take place on Great Jones Street, between Broadway and Lafayette Street, throughout the day.

“#NYC get ready! We’re taking over a whole city block in celebration of our 10th Annual #ArabAmerican Street Festival,” the fair’s hosts tweeted Friday.

Performers at the festival, which will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain or shine, include DJ Ibrahim of Syria, Eslam Farouk of Egypt, Nadwa Rifai of Lebanon and Chab Yassin of Algeria, according to NAAP-NY’s Facebook invitation for the event.

More than 600 people have indicated that they will attend.

“New York Where My Arabs @ !!!” Facebook user Malek Zatar wrote.

The vendors at the festival will include henna painters, companies selling treats native to the Middle East and North Africa, and a group with a hookah on wheels filled with watermelon-flavored tobacco.

Andrea Swalec
DNAinfo