DEARBORN-The American Arab Chamber of Commerce (AACC) announced that The Arab International Festival has been postponed for the summer of 2013. 

The news comes after talks were under-way between the AACC and the City of Dearborn over moving the location of the three-day even to Ford Woods Park, away from the normal location on Warren Avenue. 

The AACC says the cancellation of this year’s event will allow organizers to explore all opportunities for the upcoming year.

“With the move to a new location, Ford Woods Park, we needed more time to ensure we provide a quality event that the community has come to expect from us. The purpose of the 18-year-old annual celebration has been to enhance economic vitality of the region, cultural awareness and promotion of business along Warren Avenue in Dearborn, Michigan and other members of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce which sponsors the free, family-friendly event,” said Fay Beydoun, director of the Arab International Festival.

Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. said Dearborn remains supportive of the Arab International Festival and the American Arab Chamber of Commerce. 

“We look forward to its continued success promoting businesses that help drive the city’s economy and that make the community a cultural destination for visitors,” O’Reilly stated.

The AACC says they will utilize this opportunity to increase the focus of the festival in showcasing the rich heritage of the community and the American-Arab owned shops and restaurants that have made Dearborn home.

The Arab International Festival had gained a wave of negative attention in recent years. Beginning in 2009, increased tension between Christian evangelists and local Muslims had led to multiple arrests and lawsuits targeting the City of Dearborn, the Dearborn Police Department, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department and the AACC. 

The City of Dearborn had been looking to minimize tensions as much as possible by trying to move the festival into a gated area and charging an entrance fee. The Christian evangelist group, the Bible Believers, who protested at the festival last year and caused controversy after displaying a pigs head on a stick, had planned on returning to this year’s festival once again. The event was scheduled to take place from June 14-16.