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Food connoisseurs and local festival-goers are bracing themselves for a treasure trove of food, entertainment and cultural goods that will be available at California's First Halal Food and Eid Festival, coming to Alameda County Saturday.
About 18 different restaurants, food trucks, vendors, suppliers and culinary business from all over the Northern California region will be showcasing their products for the pleasure of the festivalgoers' taste buds from noon until 7 p.m. in the main parking lot of NewPark Mall at 2086 Newpark Mall Road in Newark.
With an estimated 300,000 Muslims living in the San Francisco Bay Area, the festival is meant to showcase what Muslim and halal vendors have to offer the community. "Halal" is Arabic for "permissible," and refers to religious dietary guidelines similar to kosher food for Jews. Pork and alcohol are prohibited.