Verdugo Park: A Haven For Arab American & Muslim Families

Hana’s family members, originally from Iraq, cleared up in the San Fernando Valley in the very early 2000s. Without a big yard or an official neighborhood center nearby, Verdugo Park became their common space, backyard, occasion hall, and public square.

Finding Community in Verdugo Park

When he and his wife showed up in Burbank from Aleppo in 2014, they were still reeling from the trauma of battle. Without relations close-by and couple of area links, they really felt adrift. Until one Sunday mid-day, somebody from the mosque welcomed them to a picnic at Verdugo Park.

She strolls us down a path towards the old barbeque pits, pointing out memories like spots. That’s where my relative offered an entire speech when she obtained right into med school.

A Place to Celebrate Heritage

That one event grew into a yearly practice. Each spring, an expanding group of Syrian households integrates at Verdugo to celebrate their heritage. They cook with each other: kibbeh, mansaf, and grape leaves. They hang up handmade decors, play oud music, and teach kids Arabic songs their moms and dads as soon as sang to them.

Each spring, a growing team of Syrian families comes together at Verdugo to celebrate their heritage. It’s the family members who collect throughout Ramadan to break their fasts under the trees.

“That day felt like breathing once more,” Ismail stated. And yet there we were, barbecuing meat, sharing food, laughing.

More Than Just a Park

“There’s nothing innovative regarding a park,” Hana claimed, enjoying a mother spread out a patterned blanket. “But also for a lot of us, public area hasn’t constantly seemed like it was ours. So when you discover a place where you don’t have to explain on your own, where you can just be, that remains with you.”

“A pair of Latino households signed up with in,” Ismail remembered, grinning. “One guy asked if this was a wedding.

Memories Made in Unexpected Places

As afternoon discolors right into gold light, Ismail sees the skies attentively. “We used to claim, in Syria, that the most effective memories are made in places where you really did not plan them. That’s what this park is now for everyone.”

Kids screech and run through the trees, while parents track behind them with coolers, containers, and tarpaulins complete of food. The basketball court is occupied, however no one seems to mind.

Verdugo Park: A Weekend Pillar

Snuggled right into the edge of the Verdugo Mountains and shaded by sycamores and coastline live oaks, the park has long been a weekend pillar for citizens. But in the last few years, it’s taken on a specific meaning for Southern California’s Arab American and Muslim households.

Kids run and screech with the trees, while moms and dads route behind them with containers, colders, and tarpaulins complete of food. The basketball court is inhabited, yet no one appears to mind. Up until one Sunday mid-day, someone from the mosque invited them to a barbecue at Verdugo Park.

It’s the families that gather throughout Ramadan to damage their fasts under the trees. It’s the teen ladies who follow Friday prayer in hijabs and sneakers, sitting on the swings discussing university. It’s the uncles saying over who forgot the tahini.