DSF Street Profile: Rigga Road
Business goes through the roof during the annual shopping festival
Dubai: Rigga Road no doubt is busy every day. But business goes through the roof during the annual Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) as the road transforms into a seemingly big street party.
“Rigga Road, as it is, is already busy, but during DSF, everybody comes down to Rigga,” Rumana Qasim, a long-time resident of Rigga Road, told Gulf News while enjoying Arabic sweets on a Friday night, with people playing bingo in the background.
Rumana and her relatives were having their usual night out when Gulf News caught up with them, only this time, there were more residents to share the festivities with.
“The difference between now and then is now, everybody knows what the festival is all about,” Qassal Ali, who has been in the UAE for 33 years and Rumana’s husband, said.
When DSF was launched along the Dubai Creek in 1996, Qassal said, the festivities centred in that area and the 2km stretch of Rigga. Now 20 editions later, DSF has become a city-wide celebration. But Rigga’s fame and importance as a traditional centre of entertainment remains.
“For us, it’s easier to enjoy the festivities outside because we just step out of the house and they’re there. They [DSF organisers] add something new every year to make it a novelty. Those stalls, the African stalls and the heritage stalls were not here last year. Every year on DSF, a little more flavour is added so people won’t get bored,” Rumana said.
Games for children
“Rather than just shopping, there are games for children,” Ali added.
The festivities this year are concentrated on the left hand side of Rigga Road if you’re facing the Union Metro Station. The Happy Fun carnival, although it is a year-round fixture on Rigga Road, is busier than usual at this time. It is complete with bumper cars, merry-go-rounds, trampolines, and other rides for children.
“There was a circus in this area last year,” Ali’s daughter, Batool, nine , said, referring to the Mexican Circus where daredevils performed death-defying stunts.
Although she loves DSF happenings every year, she said the city’s growth has affected the festivities, in some ways.
“The space where DSF activities are held is becoming less. Some of those buildings were not there before. Because of the construction, there’s less space now,” Batool said.
But there’s still a lot to see, the family urged, if you’re up for a night out. Stalls selling different kinds of food, from Arabic sweets to Filipino food to Turkish goods, line the left hand side of the road.
Arts and crafts such as African wood carvings are sold as well. Knitwear for adults and babies can be found with prices from Dh30 upwards.
If you’re feeling arty, you can have your face profiled by Sudanese artist Hamed Atta, who makes silhouette art in less than a minute for Dh10. Using a black piece of paper, he can “draw” the profile of your face by cutting the paper accordingly. If it’s a caricature you’re after, he can do it for Dh50.
