From (quietly) cheering on your favorite tennis players to shopping up a storm to watching falcons in action, there is lots to do around town over the next few days.
Here are our picks:
Marmi Festival
The eighth edition of the month-long annual Marmi Festival, which kicked off earlier this week, will continue this weekend with both morning and evening sessions.
The idea behind the festival is to honor traditional past-time falconry. This month will feature pigeon chasing, speed competitions and visual acuity sessions.
The festival is being held at Sabkhat Marmi near Sealine in Mesaieed. It organized by Katara-based Al Gannas society and runs through Jan. 28. More information can be found on their website.
Qatar ExxonMobil 2017 Open
Some of the world’s best tennis players are in Qatar this week to compete for a golden falcon trophy and more than $1 million in prize money.
The 25th annual Qatar ExxonMobil Open kicked off earlier this week and runs through Jan. 7 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash complex in Dafna/West Bay.
Tickets for the tournament can be bought through the Qatar Tennis Federation’s website. They start from QR25 for the early rounds to QR350 for the Singles’ final on Saturday.
Mahaseel Festival
A new festival that offers residents fresh produce from local farms has launched at Katara Cultural Village and will run through Saturday, Jan. 7.
Mahaseel Festival is open daily from 8am to 9pm at Katara’s parking area 05. The festival is free and open to the public.
The event will also feature coordination contests for school students and the public individually. These contests will include designing strollers and decorating baskets for a money prize.
More information can be found on Katara’s website.
Shop Qatar
The first edition of a month-long shopping festival will kick off this weekend in malls across Qatar.
It will feature cash prizes of up to QR4 million, special offers on flights and hotel bookings and entertainment that includes the Broadway musical Cats.
Retail outlets around the country will be providing discounts of up to 50 percent on a range of goods including clothes, cosmetics, electronics and accessories for men, women and children.
The festival will begin on Saturday, Jan. 7 and run until Feb. 7.
Participating malls include Ezdan Mall, Hyatt Plaza, AlKhor Mall, Lagoona Mall, Gulf Mall, Landmark, Dar Al Salam Mall, The Gate and The Pearl-Qatar. For more information, visit Shop Qatar’s website.
War exhibition
A new exhibition that highlights the atrocities of war through paintings and installations is currently taking place at Katara’s Building 18 from 10am to 10pm daily.
The exhibition, which kicked off last week, features 25 works of Qatari artist Jameela Al Ansari, all of which address the themes of war and an urgent call for peace.
The exhibition follows Qatar’s recent urgent relief campaign for Aleppo, which netted more than QR245 million, and will run until Jan. 12, 2017.
What are your plans for the weekend? Thoughts?
