UPDATE: Texas City Cancels Muslim Pool Party at Publicly-Owned Water Park
Grand Prairie reverses course
UPDATE: Wednesday night, May 6, 2026, the City of Grand Prairie issued the following statement to the media: “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.”
The city followed up by posting that statement through social media on Thursday, May 7, 2026. Their reversal caught the organizer off guard (more on that deeper in this article).
(What follows is our original report explaining the controversy):
A private pool party at a publicly-owned waterpark to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid has led the Texas Governor’s Office to threaten to claw back more than half a million dollars in state grants to the City of Grand Prairie unless it is canceled.
Although this same private event, “DFW Epic Eid at Epic Waterpark,” has been held in years past without much controversy, a flyer for this year’s event advertising it as “Closed to the Public-Muslims Only” went viral on social media, drawing the ire of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Despite the Governor’s threat to pull $530,000 in state grants unless the city cancels the event and “commit(s) to never allowing something like it again,” Grand Prairie does not appear inclined to fulfill the Governor’s demands.
The city responded with a statement noting that “DFW Epic Eid at Epic Waterpark” is a private event and that “like other City-owned facilities, it is available for rental by individuals and organizations.”
Event organizer, Dr. Aminah Knight, issued a statement that “In response to feedback, we have updated our materials to clearly reflect that this is a modest dress-only event, centered around a respectful and family-friendly environment. So if you are a friend of a different faith who wants to celebrate the Eid holiday with us, and adhere to the modest dress code … this event is FOR YOU TOO!”
The flyer no longer refers to DFW Epic Eid as “For Muslims Only” and now includes a statement reading “Come and celebrate Eid with us! All are welcome.”
The demand letter that the Governor’s office sent to the City of Grand Prairie notes the changes to the flyer, and is not satisfied by them, saying: “This event purports to be public-facing and discriminatory at the same time.”
The demand letter from the Governor’s Office notes that the pool party’s website states that “Attendees of all ages are expected to dress in accordance with Islamic values” and includes pictures of “burkinis” for women and long shorts and modest T-shirts for men.
Event organizer Dr. Aminah Knight told Dallas television station KXAS that because of “some online statements, there will be extra security on the day of the event.”
UPDATE:
However, as noted above, the City of Grand Prairie capitulated to the Governor’s demand and canceled the event late Wednesday night, May 6, 2026.
Dr. Knight issued the following statement then to Dallas television station WFAA:
"I’m sad. I’m sad that something that was being done with such good intention, just for joy, has been turned into something that it’s not," she said. "God knows I was just trying to plan something for my community within my community just like I did last year – why it turned into this, I don’t know."
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, Dr. Knight posted a lengthy message about the event cancellation online, including the fact that she learned of the city’s about-face through media reports late Wednesday, and was not officially notified that her event had been canceled until the City of Grand Prairie sent her an email the next day:
Do you support Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s demand that the City of Grand Prairie cancel the “DFW Epic Eid” event?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Jack, that's the worst news of my day. In fact I have never heard of a public park, having a Muslim only day. Disney World had a "Gay Day at Disney World. It was a case of FAFO. Disney has never recovered from the dumb decision.
Well if bigotry is your bag, then I guess this went down as well as could be hoped for.