This year’s Souk will be a real blast
The 17th annual Souk trade fair guarantees entertainment, sumptuous food and loads of shopping, writes Aarif Saib
NON-STOP shopping, innovative exhibitions and a wide variety of entertainment are in store at the 17th annual Souk trade fair from December 24 to January 1 at the Durban Exhibition Centre.
Starting with 100 exhibitors, the Souk was founded to address the needs of the Muslim community during the festive season.
“The Souk gave the community an alternative during the festive season. It’s a chance to avoid the usual crowds at other public places and to give small business and home executives an opportunity to sell their wares,” said organiser Asiya Amod Sayed.
Souk means market in Arabic and is a popular concept in Dubai.
“It brings people together to shop, take part in various competitions and enjoy cooking demos, nasheeds (Islamic alternative to music), comedy, etc,” she said.
The Souk was started by the Al-Ansaar Foundation, a nongovernmental organisation.
“Profits from the Souk are injected into projects like the Mariam Bee Madrasah (Islamic school), Ibn Masud (institute for the mentally and physically challenged) and other humanitarian projects. It started off as a small event and over the years, has grown.
“Every year we invite different international speakers, nasheed artists, new stall holders and have a new floor plan. We expect 100 000 people over the nine days. We have 254 confirmed stallholders,” said Sayed.
The Souk is a well-oiled machine and stallholders expect a high return on investment.
“We offer stallholders a very good deal. We market the Souk extensively. This brings in patrons.The foot count has been excellent over the past years and we expect more this year. We also allow the stallholders to pay in instalments.”
There are many trade fairs held throughout the year. What makes the Souk so special?
“It is held during the summer holiday. Durban has visitors from all over and at night people are looking for activities and entertainment for the family. The venue is excellent and it’s a perfect shelter from the summer rain.
“We offer prayer facilities, a safe and secure environment and sumptuous meals from a variety of food stalls. We have competition draws twice daily and give away international flights and vouchers worth over R5 000,” said Sayed.
The Souk has an interesting line-up of entertainment.
“We have a car show for petrol heads which will include a show and shine competition, a glow-inthe-dark competition and a super bike parade. There will be jumping castles for kids.