On 22 April 2025, CWTC hosted its annual Eid Celebration, attended by 52 members of the Oldham community, to opportunity to embrace the beauty of our diverse culture, share in joyful traditions, and make new friends.
The event was attended by honourable guests including Councillor Shaid Mushtaq and Councillor Fida Hussain, Qaiser Jimmy (Tabla player), Abida Sheikh (Poet), Robina Khan (Radio presenter), Spark Oldham, Richard McEewan & Judith from St Thomas’s & St Paul’s Church, CWTC service users, a special performance by M Sarwar on Sufi songs and members of the community.
The women from the CWTC Café also brought in their delicious food.
Feedback from attendees included:
Councillor Shaid Mushtaq
“It’s been a wonderful morning. Where we’ve had culture, music, and the CEO singing himself. What a talented individual he really is. It’s been absolutely great. They do a lot of fantastic work here, and events like this just brings everyone together. We share cultures and understand each other better and it just makes the world a better place. So thank you very much.”
M Sarwar (CEO)
“We are thankful to Councillors, Staff, Volunteers and members of the community and pleased to see such a strong community participation at this Eid Celebration. There is a need to develop, learn and promote South Asian Arts and bring together South Asian cultural organisations, artists and community members to work collaboratively to identify needs and strengthen the cultural offer in our town.”
Councillor Fida Hussain:
“A big thank you to CWTC for their invite and getting the community together. I’m so pleased to see so many different faces from all over the borough. Celebrating our late Eid and Ramadan, which is just recently passed. It was a fantastic morning with great music from Mr. Qaiser Jimmy, who was one of the artists here from Oldham and Sarwar himself, the Chief Executive of CWTC. My best wishes to them and, hope that they carry on with this excellent, great work that they’re doing in our borough.”
Richard McEwan (St Thomas’s & St Pauls Church)
“I’m Father Richard McEwan from Saint Thomas’s Church, Werneth and Saint Paul’s, Oldham. Thank you very much indeed for your kind invitation to the party. I’ve had a splendid time. I thoroughly enjoyed the singing, the music, the dancing and the poetry and also meeting so many interesting people who belong to the Oldham community. It’s been a great session. I’ve met with Councillors, members and volunteers of the Wellbeing Centre and all I can say is thank you for all you do. Thank you for the warmth. All good wishes for forthcoming events.”