Souq Waqif’s third annual Spring Festival, a two-week affair, returns this year with a fireworks show on Friday, Jan. 24 at 7pm.

The festival, which runs through Feb. 6, is free to the public. Performances run from 4pm to 10pm each day.

Among the new features in 2014 are performances from “Winter Wonderland Birds,” “Static Man,” “Comedy Waiters,” “Gandini jugglers” and “LED Sparklers.”

The acts are recurring half-hour shows held during the first week of the festival, at the Souq Alley and Outdoor theater.

Other acts

The second week will include performances such as “Charlie Chaplin,” “Ants Orchestra,” “Cars and Men” and “Stunt team.”

Two shows of the “Dora Theater Play” will be performed daily at the Al-Rayyan theater throughout the 12-day festival, except for opening night. The main car parking will feature an “Earth Dinosaur” from Jan. 29 onwards.

Music-lovers will also get a chance to enjoy concerts by various Arab singers like Rabeh Saqr, Fahd al-Qubaisi, Nawal and Cheb Mami, among others, who will be performing on their designated days.

The event is a collaborative effort by the Souq Waqif administration and Sawt Al-Rayyan Radio, in partnership with Souq Waqif Boutique Hotels, which is holding special deals for guests.

Since parking has been a problem in the past and has only gotten worse with ongoing construction around the area, the festival has designated eight spots for visiting traffic.

Here’s the full schedule and parking map:

Do you plan to go to the festival? Thoughts?