Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition thanks everyone who made our Palestine Picnic Day 2023 a great success!
Over 3,000 people came together at El Dorado East Regional Park for a beautiful day of culture, celebration and togetherness, illustrating the resilience of Palestinians despite exile and diaspora, the beauty and strength of cultural resistance, and the promise of return to Palestine.
The event was an amazing moment of coming together for our community. There were also a large amount of expenses associated with this event, from travel and airfare for our amazing performers, to park, tent and supply rental, and much more. Please click here to make a donation to support Al-Awda PRRC’s work and keep these cultural events happening!
Thank you to the Palestinian Youth Movement for organizing a powerful exhibition on Palestinian history and culture; to our fabulous emcee for the day, Salma Zahr; to all of our amazing performers, Waheeb Nasan, Jabour Bakla and his band, and our special guest straight from Palestine Sanaa Moussa!
Thank you to the young people of our community in the Mawtini Choir, Dana Minnawi and Henna with Dana, and Dr. Joanne Tawfilis for leading mural painting. A big thanks to the Jafra Dabke Group, the Mawtini Choir Youth Dabke Troupe and the Mawtini Choir Farasha Troupe for a wonderful day of dance.
A big thanks to MC Nisreen Malhis and curator Wissal Abusaad, as well as all of the models and participants, for the amazing Palestinian fashion show, and a special salute to all of the vendors who made the day an amazing day of food and culture! Chef Ammar Omar served up thousands of plates of delicious Palestinian food, alongside, Knafeh Cafe, Juice Bar, Bubba’s Tacos, Peregrine’s Coffee, Rena Trade, Yummy Yamma, Damascene Sweets, Yafa Queen Natural Products, Eye Candy Jewelry, Kanj Butik, Bab al-Silsila, Viva Little Things, Shop for Palestine, Clean Water Technology, Lina’s Embroideries, Hidden Beauty, 33 Symbols, West Bank Hoodies, and Falastiyya!
Thank you to all of the amazing sponsors for Palestine Picnic Day! We’re so pleased to be supported by the Palestine Foundation, Bab al-Silsila, the Union of Palestinian American Women, AlEnteshar Newspaper, Al-Waseet, Al Amira Jewelry and many more endorsing community organizations who came together at the Picnic, including Jewish Voice for Peace, Arab America Foundation, American Muslims for Palestine, Arab American Civic Council and Free Democratic Palestine Movement.
A special salute to our honorees, Said Judeh and his dance team, Jenan, and Anis Zubi, who received the 2023 Palestine Awards for their dedicated work for Palestinian culture and comunity, and a big thanks from the entire Al-Awda PRRC team to our national chair, Amani al-Hindi Barakat, who brought this entire event together.
More than anything, thank you to all of you, our community, who came together to make this event a success and a place of togetherness for us all, to all of the volunteers who gave their time and dedicated work from the earliest hours of the morning to the late night and who made a powerful day come together!
Why the Palestine Picnic Day?
Al-Awda PRRC organizes the Palestine Picnic Day every year in order to bring our community together, provide a space for community organizing, social interaction and cultural resistance and celebration. We see these cultural efforts as part and parcel of our cause: confronting Zionism, that has sought from the earliest moments of colonization to uproot, erase, coopt and destroy Palestinian culture and society.
Events like the Palestinian Picnic Day illustrate that new generations of Palestinian youth, born in exile and diaspora, are embracing and advancing Palestinian culture and identity, toward liberation and return. Our Picnic Day not only showcases the developments and cultural projects of our community but provides a space for organizations to introduce themselves and their work to the community and build strength for mobilization and action.
Palestinian cultural organizing in the diaspora is essential for preserving Palestinian identity, countering cultural erasure, fostering solidarity, empowering individuals and communities, raising awareness, and advocating for Palestinian rights and justice — and we’re proud that the Palestine Picnic Day is part of that tradition.
Help us continue this important work, on our road to return. Donate to support Al-Awda PRRC.
