Dubai Shopping Festival 2013 Brings Dubai Together At Cultural Night Market

Community event in Safa Park shows the friendlier, caring side of city as people come together in celebration with art and culture

Dubai’s community spirit was on full display at the Cultural Night Market held in Safa Park over the weekend as the city showed a side to its character that is vastly different to its image of a place full of glitzy shopping malls and glass-fronted skyscrapers.

Starting at 2pm on both Friday and Saturday and continuing until 10pm, a corner of Safa Park became the focal point for Dubai residents and visitors, resounding with the laughter and whoops of joy of kids as a myriad of activities kept them busy while parents and grown-ups browsed through the various stalls and kiosks set up by amateur artists and designers to display and sell their handicrafts, painting, sculptures and other objects d’art. And, as the afternoon rolled into the evening and then into night, the stage and dance shows for children were gradually replaced by amateur bands and artists - everyday people with a passion for music who took the opportunity provided by the event to showcase their talent to appreciative audiences.

The daylight hours were all for the kids. Presenting a show on a makeshift stage erected in the cordoned off area of the park where the Cultural Night Market (CNM) was taking place, a dance troupe had all the children in the venue crowd around and join them as they danced to hit numbers such as “Gangnam Style”. Elsewhere, children were taking joy rides in a small toytrain while others jumped around in a play pen full of soft balls. A giant inflatable slippery slide was another attraction that the kids simply could not get enough of. Meanwhile, the more patient among the tiny tots sat still while face painters decorated them into fairies, lovable animals and cartoon characters.

Parents and adults also had their fill. Some women gravitated towards the henna artists’ stalls to have their hands decorated with the beautiful artistry while others checked out the wonderful array of ethnic clothes and fashion accessories being presented in kiosks set up by amateur designers.

Various creative people had set up kiosks to sell their handiwork. Anamika Kumar from India was one of them. Her stall, named “Native Nukkad” which loosely translates into “native community”, displayed a variety of handmade decorative items, textiles, prints and embroidery.

“I loved the appreciation from all the people who attended the event,” she said. “I was able to sell many of my pieces and it gave me great joy to see my talent and hard work receive so much praise.”

Dubai resident Rosenfele Antonius from the Philippines also praised the event as “refreshingly different”. He had come with his wife Jessica to attend the rock music performance, on the sidelines of which he said: “I have spent around 10 years in Dubai and this time I see a concerted effort to bring the DSF to the people as a community event, rather than a mainly commercial and shopping one. We love this emphasis on the community and the fact that people are coming together here. My wife and I are rock music fans and it was a joy to find everyday people like us who are so talented and passionate about their music.”

Antonius was alluding to “Exit 43”, the band that performed on Friday evening. Meeting the three members of band, you would be hard pressed to guess that they were so talented. “We are friends who love music. Rock music is our shared passion,” said the band’s lead singer and guitarist Mike Atallah, who is an architect by day. His compatriot and friend Nadim Medawar is also an architect and plays the bass guitar in Exit 43. Medawar said: “Such a community initiative is simply great for Dubai and a lot of good can come out of it.”

And indeed a lot of good did come out of the Cultural Night Market at a stall put up by Mawaheb, a Dubai-based institution for children with special needs, which was selling paintings and handicrafts made by its kids. Australian Barbara Audas, a volunteer, said Mawaheb, which means talent in Arabic, was dedicated to improving the lives of special needs people, giving their talents an outlet and imparting skills to them.

“An event such as this raises awareness about children with special needs and about our efforts,” she said. “People who have come here have marveled at the paintings and objects made by our kids and have bought a lot of their creations. In fact, the Raffles Hotel Dubai bought a huge painting made by one of our talented pupils and will display it in their premises with full credit to the painter. Most of our children are mentally challenged, such as with autism, and some are deaf. But that does not stop them from creating these beautiful works of art, as you can see. And this event is indeed beautiful, too, for it enables people to come together and foster a sense of belonging among residents. Thanks to the DSF’s efforts we have something really special this time.” 

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Jan 27, 2013

Back