Dubai: Dubai Creek will come alive at the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) as four of the six main attractions are lined up in the area.
Al Seef Street, the Creek Park, the Heritage and Diving Village and Al Riqqa Street will be the venues around the creek along with Festival Promenade at Dubai Festival City and Downtown Dubai, the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE), an agency of the Department of Economic Development and the organisers of DSF, announced on Monday.
DEPE’s Events Director Suhaila Ghobash said: “It’s a great opportunity for visitors to take in the whole of Dubai as they go to the locations of the events spread out all over the city. Apart from the main Dubai neighbourhoods that will host the events and activities of DSF 2013 are Al Riqqa Street and the unique Downtown Dubai. DSF 2013 is also geared up to provide more events and entertainment for our younger audience, such as the various children’s rides at Al Riqqa Street and special activities for kids at the Creek Park.”
Festival Promenade will host the DSF Fun Fairground, which will feature a range of games and rides. Beach sport events will also take place near the venue at the sandy creek shores adjacent to it.
The highlight of the Festival Promenade at DSF 2013 will be the Bedouin Lifestyle Camp, which will provide an authentic experience of Bedouin desert life in Yemen, Jordan, Mauritania, Algeria and Morocco, as well as the hosts UAE. Also represented will be Ethiopia, Kenya and India — countries surrounding the Arab region that also have desert nomadic groups. The event will welcome visitors from 5pm to 10pm every evening.
Al Seef Street
Always abuzz with a myriad of activities, this year Al Seef Street will stage the DSF Carnival, the ‘World of Souvenirs’ and the ‘Tea Oasis’ among the major new events. There will be the usual attractions such as floating restaurants, roaming acrobats and cultural performers, children’s play areas, kiosks selling food and an eclectic selection of merchandise.
Al Riqqa Street
Al Riqqa Street has always been famous for the way it looks during DSF and this year’s lights and decorations promise to better than ever. Roaming performers and artistes will add to the street’s colour. The area will also host a Sports Zone and a Skill Games area, where the adventurous can try their skill at various sporting activities and games and win prizes.
Creek Park
The Creek Park will assume special prominence during the DSF 2013 celebrations as the favourite venue for children when it hosts the Kids Festival Park from January 3 to February 3.
Downtown Dubai
Downtown Dubai will host fashion shows including ‘Creations’, the Street Fashion Show, the Biggest Sampling/Makeover and a midnight fashion show. Finally, fashion will reach dizzying heights at the Highest Catwalk, held hundreds of metres up in the sky in At the Top, Burj Khalifa.
Heritage Village
The Heritage and Diving Village is a little piece of Dubai frozen in time that depicts the way life functioned in the emirate in the past. During DSF this living museum of traditional life will be a hive of activity, with stalls of Emirati food and artefacts, as well as presentations and exhibits about the pearling and seafaring traditions of the UAE’s forefathers.
