Image courtesy of the Muslim Women's Coalition
Celebrating Palestine Festival 2026
Celebrating Palestine Festival 2026
The “Celebrating Palestine” festival returns for its second year this Sunday, June 7 at Marcus Performing Arts Center (929 N. Water St.) from noon to 8 p.m. Sponsored by the Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC), the family-friendly experience honors the rich culture, resilience and heritage of the Palestinian people by way of music, art, food, dance, fashion and more. Tickets are $15 in advance or $25 day-of and may be purchased here.
Last year’s inaugural Celebrating Palestine festival drew more than 1,200 people and featured a sprawling market of Palestinian artisans and vendors, immersive cultural exhibits, a fashion show highlighting traditionally embroidered dresses from cities and towns all over historic Palestine, dabke performances and various stations of delicious Palestinian cuisine.
“We were blown away by the excitement and interest—both by Palestinians who were proud to see their culture and heritage represented accurately, and the tremendous number of non-Palestinians who had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a culture they are not familiar with,” MWC director Janan Najeeb says.
This year, Celebrating Palestine will span two floors and involve new additions to both the fashion show and vendor market plus spoken word poetry, a children's craft area and zaffe finale. Internationally known artist Mohammed Darawshah will showcase the history of the dabke dance through a performance and workshop. Milwaukee-based women's dabke group Banat Al-Huriyah as well as Chicago-based men's group Al Horiyah Dabke will each perform as well, which Najeeb assures “will definitely have the audience on their feet.” Attendees also have the unique opportunity to hear traditional Palestinian instruments be played by the Palestine Youth Ensemble.
“With all of the efforts to silence Palestinian voices and misrepresent an incredibly rich culture and people that date back thousands of years, the best way to support is to attend and bring family and friends to experience this event,” Najeeb notes. “We encourage people to get their discounted tickets in advance because they will be full price at the door.”
