‘Eid Picnic by the Islamic Cultural Association (ICA)

By Adil James, TMO

Children help a man fly a large kite at Cass Lake Park.

Cass Lake Park–’Eidul Fitr actually arrived over a week previously, but the ICA scheduled its ‘Eid picnic well into the month of Shawwal at a beautiful lake campground in Waterford.

Lake Cass is a large sprawling lakefront play area, with three distinct beaches, accessible in that it is in a central part of northern Oakland County.  It is frequented by thousands of people, many who bring kayaks, sailboats, motor boats, jetskis and waterskis to play in.

The ICA community celebrated ‘Eidul Fitr with a large picnic gathering at this beautiful spot with about 250 celebrants, halal hotdogs and hamburgers and kabobs, among many other tasty treats.  They had arranged a large bounce-house for the children, very close to Cass Lake (which is a relatively large local lake), with a view of kayaks and playboats.

One of the organizers, Hala Alkhabtib, said that “usually we do ‘Eid events indoors (at a big community center in West Bloomfield), but since this year ‘Eid is in the summer we did it outdoors.”
The ICA is a growing community, the formative core of what is now Bloomfield’s Unity Center, the Huda School, Beverly Hills Academy, and more.

“ICA is designed to help the community in its educational, social, and community needs. We have been here for 25-30 years, and we are growing,” said Dr. Samer Nasry, the ICA President.

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