Excerpt:
Ashfaq Parkar of Franklin, Somerset, has been taking his 11-year-old daughter, Zahraa, to Muslim Youth Day at Six Flags Great Adventure since its inception eight years ago.
This year, the Parkars, including 4-year-old Hadiya, will have even more to celebrate. For the first time, Muslim Youth Day on Wednesday, Oct. 1 and Thursday, Oct. 2 coincide with Eid-ul-Fitr, the festival that ends the daytime fast throughout the Islamic month of Ramadan.
"It makes it even more special," Parkar said. "The kids are very excited and very much looking forward to the event."
More than 15,000 are expected at Muslim Youth Day, which expanded to two days because it coincides with Eid, said Parkar, spokesman for the event's organizer, the New Jersey chapter of the Islamic Circle of North America in the Somerset section of Franklin.