Bedford community breaks bread after first week of Ramadan

The community Iftar took place on Saturday, May 11, 2019, at the Westbourne Islamic Centre in Queen’s Park.

Face painting, community stalls and Mehndi body art welcomed guests into the centre, as helpers in kitchen got busy preparing more than 200 servings of samosas, curry, dahl and fruit, including the traditional dates.

Together with her nephew Musa, Tasleem helped to wash more than 900 pieces of crockery and cutlery used on the day: “It’s a fantastic event and we have a great team of volunteers – including children – who put in the groundwork to make this all happen.

“This year’s event was even more of a challenge because we set ourselves the target of being completely sustainable and not using any single use plastics.

“It’s just so great to see the whole community come together.”

The Iftar is the fourth held by Queens Park Community Orchard and this year welcomed more faiths than ever before with Sikh, Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Buddhist guests coming together around the table.

Secretary Marie-Ange Comerford-Raillon said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have had so many members of Bedford’s friendly and diverse community through the doors.

“The atmosphere in the room was wonderful and we can’t thank everyone who helped to make it happen enough – from chefs to face painters, pot washers to our special guests.”