The City of Grand Prairie has canceled a controversial Eid event planned at the city-owned Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark following mounting backlash and a threat from Gov. Greg Abbott to revoke state grant funding.
“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,” spokesperson Beth Owens told Texas Scorecard.
The event, known as “DFW Epic Eid,” initially advertised itself as a “Muslim only” gathering at the taxpayer-funded waterpark. The promotional language sparked criticism online after the story was highlighted by BlazeTV and Texas Scorecard personality Sara Gonzales.
Although organizers later revised the event description to say “all are welcome” while maintaining a modest dress code, Abbott’s office argued the event still amounted to unconstitutional religious discrimination.
Earlier Wednesday, Abbott warned Grand Prairie that it could lose more than $530,000 in state grants unless the city canceled the event and pledged not to allow similar events in the future.
“A city-owned water park in Grand Prairie openly advertised a ‘MUSLIMS ONLY’ event — closed to the general public,” Abbott wrote on X. “That’s religious discrimination. It’s unconstitutional.”
The governor’s office had given the city until May 11 to respond.
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