15 August 2004
KUWAIT :The summer is considered the travel season in Kuwait, as a significant number of its people leave the country and its simmering climate. Nevertheless, there are earnest efforts on the part of the authorities to make the season enjoyable for those who decide to stay back. A festival of that sort was opened yesterday at the Shaab Leisure Park under the auspices of Rasheed Al-Tabtabaei, the under secretary at ministry of commerce and trade.
The event tagged as 'Spend Your Summer with Us' will present a number of music bands from various countries. The inaugural programme belonged to an Egyptian traditional dance troupe called Al-Zaffa and a popular Kuwaiti dance number Al-Arda. Also, the musicians playing the traditional instrument Al-Habban had enthralled the audience. Artistes from China, India and Lebanon are also scheduled to perform during the month-long festival.
Other attractions include painting and photo exhibitions and competitions, as well as cooking and cake shows. Cartoon characters wearing glittering costumes with clown make ups, face paintings and oversize red shoes are out to entertain juvenile visitors. Manal and her sister Safaa, the teenage Kuwaiti girls who visited the show on the opening day, have endorsed that they "liked the concept of staging a festival at this time".
They also said that they would attend every single programme in the coming days. Both sisters have no doubt that the festival will be a runaway success and they expressed hope that it would become an annual summer event. Another visitor, Ali Al-Mansouri and his friend Ahmed Al-Haydari, however, wanted the timing of the festival little earlier. Al-Mansouri said, "the festival would be much more interesting if it starts at the beginning of the summer vacation, because it will then encourage people more to stay back in the country". On the other hand, Bader Al Saeed preferred the festival to coincide with the winter season because "open-air activities in summer are difficult to enjoy". The festival will end on Sept 5.
KUWAIT :The summer is considered the travel season in Kuwait, as a significant number of its people leave the country and its simmering climate. Nevertheless, there are earnest efforts on the part of the authorities to make the season enjoyable for those who decide to stay back. A festival of that sort was opened yesterday at the Shaab Leisure Park under the auspices of Rasheed Al-Tabtabaei, the under secretary at ministry of commerce and trade.
The event tagged as 'Spend Your Summer with Us' will present a number of music bands from various countries. The inaugural programme belonged to an Egyptian traditional dance troupe called Al-Zaffa and a popular Kuwaiti dance number Al-Arda. Also, the musicians playing the traditional instrument Al-Habban had enthralled the audience. Artistes from China, India and Lebanon are also scheduled to perform during the month-long festival.
Other attractions include painting and photo exhibitions and competitions, as well as cooking and cake shows. Cartoon characters wearing glittering costumes with clown make ups, face paintings and oversize red shoes are out to entertain juvenile visitors. Manal and her sister Safaa, the teenage Kuwaiti girls who visited the show on the opening day, have endorsed that they "liked the concept of staging a festival at this time".
They also said that they would attend every single programme in the coming days. Both sisters have no doubt that the festival will be a runaway success and they expressed hope that it would become an annual summer event. Another visitor, Ali Al-Mansouri and his friend Ahmed Al-Haydari, however, wanted the timing of the festival little earlier. Al-Mansouri said, "the festival would be much more interesting if it starts at the beginning of the summer vacation, because it will then encourage people more to stay back in the country". On the other hand, Bader Al Saeed preferred the festival to coincide with the winter season because "open-air activities in summer are difficult to enjoy". The festival will end on Sept 5.
By Zainab Al-Doukali
© Kuwait Times 2004
