MUBARAKIYA EXPO 2016

Who doesn't know  Souk Mubarakiya - one of the oldest heritage market in Kuwait that keeps the past alive.  All around are numerous shops selling almost anything and everything.  You get a taste of culture, heritage and traditional wooden architecture.  I have always enjoyed visiting Mubarakiya several times a year.

Last Friday, we popped into Souk Mubarakiya as the Mubarakiya expo was taking place during the last few weekends as a part of the National day and Liberation day celebration. During the expo, as a part of the celebrations, Mubarakiya market is bejeweled in numerous colored lights  by sunset. The whole place gives a magical feel, quite a photographer's delight to capture. The fourth and last phase of the expo will be on Thursday 18th February, to Saturday 20th February.  The expo promotes small local businesses of sorts. You will find stalls selling a variety of things. There's snacks, traditional confectionary, home made chocolates and cakes, beverages, juices, tea sets, clothing, jewelry, accessories, flowers and many more. Let me warn you, there is defintely going to be a very big crowd  during the expo. Personally I am the sort of person who can enjoy in a crowded expo or festive gatherings as much I would enjoy small gatherings and solitude.  You can get to watch traditional musicians and cultural dance by local performers and artists, during the expo.

Expo dates and timings:

Thursday 18 February - 4pm to 9 pm
Friday 19 February - 1pm to 9pm
Saturday 20 February - 1 pm to pm

Hope you enjoy the photos and the pretty lights....

FESTIVAL CITY - INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS

Festival City is family entertainment event  featuring different shows by international artists. Festival city event  began on 4th February and will continue until 5th March. The shows take place on several different stages - the Main stage, the Lake stage, Celebrities stage, Kids show zone and Luna stage. If you plan on visiting the show, you can take a picture or download their program schedule for the day from their Instagram or Facebook page, so you know what time, on which stages, what events would be taking place and be at the venue before the show begins.  If you miss a show, dont worry, the shows will repeated at a later time during the same day. It will be there on the program schedule. The flyer you get when you purchase the tickets at the entrance has the old schedule on it. But however, they would be a big poster next to the VIP ticket counter showing the current schedule.

When you enter, you will be surrounded by plenty of small shops selling clothing, jewelry,  perfume, pottery, toys, confectionary, gift items, decorative articles, lots of things. It's nice to walk around and see and even pick up something of your liking. The right end of Festival city has a children's play area and lot of restaurant food stalls with seating arrangement by the small lake next to the Lake stage. We had lunch at the Pastamania near the Lake stage. The extreme left part of Festival  city has street food and eateries, the Celebrities stage, Kids show zone and Luna stage. The remaining areas have shops laid out in rows with the Main stage for the show in the centre, rear end of the the Festival city which is noticeable as you enter. There is big map when you enter, and everything is easy to find.

Expect to be amid a big crowd as the shows have turned out to be quite popular. Car parking is right outside the Festival city or you can park at the Kuwait International fair ground parking area close to the Festival city - near hall 4 or 8 and walk it to the venue which would just take less than 5 minutes.

* Ticket - 1 KD per person; additional 1 KD for entry to Kids show zone and Luna stage

* 5 KD VIP tickets (includes VIP seating, and entry to kids show zone and Luna stage)

* Timing during weekend : 2 pm to 10 pm; week days : 3.30 pm to 10 pm

Festival city website

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Here are some photos I took on last Saturday at Festival city

LONGEST FLAG IN THE WORLD - KUWAIT FLAG MAKES GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

'Our Flag Unites Us' show held at Mina Abdulla, street 230 on a windy yet lovely afternoon of 12 February, was a special event. The air show had a fantastic display of aerobatics by  remote control planes emphasizing their flying skills to a delightful audience.  It was a well organized public event. A huge number of families had turned up for the event. Plenty of seating arrangement was made for visitors facing the runway in a long stretch.  It was quite nice to see the remote control planes take off into the sky; the jet engines with their trail of smoke during aerobatics causing quite a visual treat. Remote control helicopters appeared like little dragonflies during aerobatic feats high up in the air. Visitors were served gahwa, black tea, chocolates and water during the show. Few food stalls were selling  snacks, juices and eatables.

The finale was the best part of the show where the longest flag in world - the Kuwait flag was pulled by a big  remote control plane that took off from the ground and into the sky in the presence of Guinness Wold Record committee. The long flag made pretty shapes, twirling and dancing in the wind along with the flight path of the plane. It was beautiful to watch. And yes of course, the Kuwait flag made a Guinness World Record as being the longest flag in the world.