2nd Lebanese Cultural Bazaar at AUK

The Lebanese Culture Club (LCC) at the American University of Kuwait (AUK) organized its 2nd Annual Lebanese Bazaar. The event took place on the AUK Campus, and was open to the AUK community, friends, and family. The Lebanese Culture Club at AUK is a student club representing the Lebanese community and population of AUK, and aims to promote the country of Lebanon, its culture, and its history to the AUK community, while also serving to educate them by organizing events that are entertaining, educational, and beneficial for students and campus. This is how the idea of the Lebanese Bazaar was introduced; the desire was to combine all these elements into one major event.

The Lebanese Bazaar included different companies that showcased Lebanese products and services, such as restaurants, shops, artisans, and many more, that had the opportunity to promote and sell their various items. These vendors included Lama Fruits & Produce, Casper & Gambinis, Falafel Nadia, Sandy Snacks, Arzet Lebnan, Let's Popcorn, Bayt Al-Saboun El-Lebnany, Nazih Cosmetics, Beirut International Exhibitions Company, Buy2Best, and numerous vendors for hand-made accessories, jewelry, crafts, and souvenirs. The Lebanese Culture Club set up a booth that displayed different Lebanese crafts, and created engraved key-chains made of authentic Lebanese cedar wood. The bazaar also included traditional Lebanese music, which played throughout the event, as well as a traditional Lebanese Dabke performance by a group of professional performers.

Student Club President, Mireille Tannnous said, "The Lebanese Bazaar is a perfect opportunity for AUK students to get to know the Lebanese culture, as well as the participating companies to promote their services to the public. It's a mutual benefit!"

In addition, there were various displays around campus, such as a Lebanese Wall of Fame, which educated students about famous people around the world who are Lebanese or of Lebanese origins, and a photo display of famous and historic places that are landmarks in Lebanon. More importantly, there was also a student educational activity involving the Lebanese "Bosta" or mini-bus. This activity involved a display of a mini van with a poster explaining the history and meaning of how the "Bosta" was involved in the "Ain el-Rammaneh" incident that sparked of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975. And, as a sign of symbol of peace, students took turns writing their messages of peace, hope and better future on the van.

Amer El-Assaad, Assistant Director of PR & Marketing at AUK, and Advisor for the Lebanese Culture Club, also commented on the success of the event, saying, "based on the success of last year's bazaar, which was much smaller, the student club decided to have it again this academic year, but much larger in scale, and with more activities. As the club advisor, I of course supported their decision, and assisted as much as I could with the event."

The event was sponsored by Yiaco Apollo Medical Center, which served as the official sponsor for the event. Yiaco Apollo Medical Center in Kuwait agreed to come on board as sole sponsors for the Bazaar, to get involved with community outreach, and to promote their services involving the latest and most comprehensive technologies in medical care and beauty services. Mr. Abdulkader Al-Mursal, Marketing Manager of Yiaco Medical Center, is also a 2008 graduate of AUK, and saw a perfect opportunity to get involved with AUK again as an alumnus.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 1st May 2013

Photography by the Office of Public Affairs (C) 2013