The organizer of the canceled Eid celebration in Grand Prairie says the city never contacted her before pulling the event after pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott.
The Islamic holiday celebration was canceled by the city of Grand Prairie yesterday afternoon following backlash from conservatives over an initial flyer for the event that advertised it as for “Muslims Only.” Later promotions of the event were changed to include all people.
The organizer of the June 1 event, Aminah Knight, said she learned about the cancelation from news reports Wednesday, and speculated the city was trying to "make people feel better" by canceling the event.
“The city has not contacted me to say that the event was canceled,” said Knight. “I actually don't know who the city is addressing. But the city has not reached out to me to break our contract.”
Later, Knight said she was contacted by Epic Waters Thursday afternoon via email saying the event was canceled over payment issues. Knight acknowledged she did sign a contract to reserve the park — but was instructed to hold off on payment.
“I have a contract with the park to have a private party,” said Knight. “And for my private party, I get to invite whoever I want and that's exactly what I did. For people of the Muslim faith, modesty is a high value for us and so I'm just creating a space just for one day for my private event to have that.”
KERA News reached out to the city and the water park for comment on Knight’s claims and will update this story with any response.
In a general statement, Grand Prairie said, “After further review and in the best interest of the City of Grand Prairie, the June 1 Eid event at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark has been canceled.”
Governor Greg Abbott pressed the city to cancel the event through an X post threatening to pull $530,000 in state funding.
A city-owned water park in Grand Prairie openly advertised a "MUSLIMS ONLY" event -- closed to the general public.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 6, 2026
That's religious discrimination. It's unconstitutional. I signed HB 4211 into law -- banning Muslim only no-go zones in Texas.
The City must cancel the event and… https://t.co/W9NY9PAAjE
Knight told KERA she is reviewing her legal options.
“I'm not trying to sue the park, I love the park,” said Knight. “I didn't set out on this thing like, ‘oh, this can make an amazing lawsuit.’ I just want to have an event for my community.”
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org. KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members.
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