Comox Valley for Palestine is looking to raise funds to send to three Palestinian families on August 14, and are holding a festival and dinner fundraiser on Aug. 14 to do so.
Festival for Falastin will be held on Aug. 14 at Buchanan Hall in Cumberland. The family-friendly event is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for life-saving direct aid that will be sent to families in Palestine. The event will be divided into two parts: a free daytime festival with interactive activities, and a ticketed dinnertime fundraiser with speakers and performances.
Starting at noon, Famer's Kitchen food truck will be selling felafels, and a market will be set up selling Palestinian produce. Other events include live screen printing, a kids craft station, henna tattoos, and a number of educational resources from members of Comox Valley for Palestine. Starting at 2 p.m., attendees can build kites and learn about their significance for Palestinians. There will also be an interactive workshop on direct action. Starting at 4, Independent Jewish Voices will be hosting an anti-oppression-informed workshop on antisemitism, where definitions of antisemitism will be discussed. as well as connections to anti-Palestinian racism and more.
Starting at 6 p.m. will be the fundraiser dinner. The dinner is called "From Salish Sea to Palestine: Dinner Fundraiser on Interconnected Struggles for Collective Liberation" and will be a three-course Levantine-inspired meal featuring vegan and gluten-free options again by Farmer's Kitchen. The dinner portion will also include a panel discussion between Palestinian/ Argentinian cook Yasmin Ashi, Jewish educator and social justice activist Tara Olivetree (Ehrcke), and Ligwilda'xw Kwakwaka'wakw contemporary artist Sonny Assu.
A silent auction, dance performance and live instrumental music from Air Above Mountains with interwoven poetry readings. Childcare will be available at the Weird Church during the dinner.
The direct aid, which is immediate assistance provided directly to people in need, will be provided to four families. Sixteen-year-old Ahed is located in the Mawasi and Kahn Yunis area. He and his family have been displaced five times, and were left without a tent after an airstrike. A release from Comox Valley For Palestine says that Ahed's father has been held captive for over six months, and his injured brother needs medical care.
"Ahed is now responsible for his family's needs, and with no way out of Gaza due to the destruction of Rafah Crossing, they urgently need support for shelter and hope," the release says.
The second recipient of aid is a woman named Yasmeen. She is also located in Mawasi with her husband and two kids. They are hoping to come to Canada, and are trying to raise enough money to start the refugee process. Ahmed is another recipient, who is currently in Egypt, but is working from there to support his family in Gaza. Ahmed's sister has a respiratory illness and requires oxygen, and Ahmed is trying to meet this and other family needs. Mayassa is another recipient. She is a 27-year-old mother of two from Gaza who escaped to Egypt in April. She is raising funds for basic needs and to hopefully reunite with her family.
Tickets are available for purchase (cash only) on a sliding scale of $40, $75, or $110, based on individual capacity, with no questions asked, at The Mustard Lady, Little Village Store, and Moss Grey Atelier
