Photos courtesy of Aspire Zone and Katara on Facebook

Undeterred by the cooler weather and the cancellation of most National Day activities, Qatar residents are taking advantage of the long weekend by spending more time outdoors.

This includes at the Darb Al Saai grounds in Al Sadd, which remain open to the public. Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village and the Aspire Zone are also drawing many visitors.

All of these places remained decked out in maroon and white to mark the National Day season.

On Wednesday, Qatar’s Emir officially canceled the annual parade, fireworks and other Dec. 18 national day celebrations out of solidarity with the suffering people of Syria.

Instead, tomorrow evening, a new charity campaign will be launched at 7pm at Darb Al Saai in the flagpole yard.

New parks

Meanwhile, the country’s public parks department will open three new parks in Al Shamal, Duhail and Al Thumama to mark QND.

https://twitter.com/Baladiya1/status/809914958230278144

The Peninsula reports that all the parks have children’s play areas but no WiFi yet.

The ones in Duhail and Al Thumama will open to the public on Monday, while Al Shamal park will open on Tuesday, it added.

How are you spending your weekend? Thoughts?