Market Day
REGION: The Lions Club’s Market Day in The Square was a chance to be immersed in different cultures, with Palestinian and Syrian food just some of the highlights.
The Lions Club’s Market Day in The Square was a chance to be immersed in different cultures, with Palestinian and Syrian food just some of the highlights.
About 90 stall holders set up shop in Palmerston North’s city centre on Saturday to sell food and handcrafts.
Refugee Tammam Tamim was selling Palestinian and Syrian sweets and savouries as he remembers them from his time living in both countries.
Tamim is originally from Palestine, but his family moved to Syria and then to Thailand, before coming to New Zealand.
He’s been here almost a year and he hopes it will be home forever. Tamim said he felt safe in New Zealand and he hoped his son Mohammad, 12, would be able to grow up as a Kiwi.
But the family haven’t forgotten their roots. They use market days such as the Lions Club’s fair to show people their culture through food.
The family sold Middle Eastern walnut cookies, Palestinian apple pie and Manakish, a flat dough with a thyme and olive oil topping.
All funds from the food sales go back to family and friends living in Thailand.
Other food at the fair included hot-dogs and German sausages, which Lions Club of Middle Districts organiser Philip Booth said were popular on the cold, windy day.
Some stalls packed up early as they battled against strong gusts, but there were still plenty of people walking through, Booth said.
Instead of meandering through the stalls, people were going straight for hot drinks and food, he said.