Local residents weren't talking about problems in the Middle East at this year's three-day Middle Eastern Cultural Festival at St. Elias Christian Church on Onondaga Hill. Instead, thousands of people from various religious and cultural backgrounds were munching on homemade baklawah, grape leaves, kebabs and hummus this weekend, while watching adults and children doing arabic dances.
Festival co-chair Nael Deyeh says organizers wanted residents to understand the Middle Eastern culture in a more positive way than the media portrays it. "This is an opportunity to see the warmth of the people, the festivity of the music, the food, and get a different perspective on what Middle Eastern culture is all about," says Deyeh.
One local resident, who is not of Middle Eastern origin, says she never connected conflict in the Middle East with the festival, she was just there to enjoy a different culture.
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