A staggering 5,000 people attended the first ever Eid On The Drive, which had something for everyone, last month.

The traditional Muslim celebration after Ramadan was organised in a concerted fashion this time to avoid the previous trouble with young people loitering on the streets and virtual car races along Albert Drive. Formal places were designated for people to gather and celebrate.

East Pollokshields Multicultural Centre was the ladies’ zone. Despite the fact we had a woman photographer, the LOCAL NEWS was not allowed to enter the zone, so we have no pictures or report of how it went.

Football pitches behind the Centre were the family zone and the Scotland Street car park was the boyzone. The youths had racing cars, climbing wall, football and other activities such as bucking bronco .

Polmadie Fire Station officers demonstrated the aftermath of a car crash. Station Fire Master Ian Findlay said, ‘The point was to show these younger drivers what it’s like to be in an accident and what could happen to their cars. Hopefully, this should make them drive more carefully and responsibly.’

The Police Manoeuvrability Competition attracted a crowd. This involved driving round a timed circuit without hitting any cones. Tanveer Mughal from Shawlands won sub woofer speakers for the top effort. He said, ‘I am really delighted. Today has been a great day with a lot to keep everybody happy.’

A Kit Kar Competition sponsored and organised Rapid Tyre Services from Motherwell attracted around 30 cars. Kal SECOND NAME the owner said, ‘The aim is to give these young drivers a chance to show off their cars in a structured and formal way.’

The winner was Waseem Anwar from Motherwell, with his Toyota Celica 1996 2.0ST. Second place was Sohail Hussain, Govanhill with his green Peugot 206 1.6. He told the LOCAL NEWS, ‘I’m disappointed that I did not win. However I will be entering next year and hopefully will win then. Today has been good because it has kept us from driving around the streets and we can show our cars off as well.’ In third place was Jamal Hashmi with his Honda CRX.

In the family zone kiddy rides, information stalls, go-karting, bouncy castles, face and henna painting were all available. An Ayauara taught children how to play the traditional West African Drums, which resulted in some strange sounds from this area.

The grand finale was the parade. The kit kars started at Scotland Street and joined the lantern parade on Shields Road and Albert Drive. However, there seemed to be a delay with the parade and this resulted in hundreds of people congregating on Albert Drive. When it finally came, there was only one lantern and a band of pipers called Gaita who play a mixture of Scottish and Spanish pipe music.

This went down a treat as people started cheering, clapping, shouting and some even dancing, as they made their way down to Darnley Street. There, a spectacular fireworks display from the Hidden Gardens bought the celebrations to an end along with a concert by London based Muslim rappers, Mecca 2 Medina, which proved a great hit with the audience.

Pollokshields Councillor Irfan Rabbani and Na’eem Raza of Meem Consultants, YCSA, The Hidden Gardens, Pollokshields Community Council, Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue were all part of the steering group.

Councillor Rabbani said, ‘We are really happy with the event which has brought all the diverse communities of Pollokshields together to celebrate Eid ul Fitr. Hopefully this has improved the community cohesion by involving people from all backgrounds to organise this very successful day.’

Na’eem Raza added, ‘More than 5,000 people have attended, which is really great. After the trouble at last year’s Eid, it was important to provide a formal place for young people to gather and celebrate.’

 Linda McDonald, Manager of the Hidden Gardens, said, ‘I’m really happy to support a worthwhile event like this and to see a great mix of people here all celebrating together.’