From rocking out at an Elvis Presley tribute concert to celebrating Palestinian heritage and culture to checking out the Souq Waqif festival, there’s plenty to do around town this weekend.
Here are our picks:
Souq Waqif festival
A new festival has launched at the Souq, in part to woo students on spring break in Qatar and across the GCC.
The event includes cultural activities, roaming street performers, rides and games. However, live concerts have been canceled out of solidarity with Syria.
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That said, the festival, which kicked off last week, features several other performances. They include Titan the Robot, bubbleology shows and performers dressed in costumes.
The festival is open daily from 4:30pm to 10:30pm, and will wrap up on Friday, April 14. Titan the Robot shows will continue until Saturday, April 15.
Back to Musheireb exhibition
Residents are invited to take a trip down memory lane by visiting a new exhibition about one of Qatar’s oldest neighborhoods at Msheireb Museums.
The temporary exhibition, titled Back to Msheireb: Shared Streets — Shared Stories kicked off last week and will run until July 27, 2017.
It includes street and store signs of tailors, electronic gadget stores and repair shops, along with other items reminiscent of the bustling neighborhood, starting from the 1980s onward.
#MsheirebMuseums hosts a new exhibition in collaboration with @UCL_Qatar students. #Qatar #Doha #Msheireb #BackToMsheireb pic.twitter.com/BvCLze2ZiE
— Msheireb Properties (@MsheirebDoha) April 4, 2017
The exhibition was curated by students of University College London (UCL) Qatar in and is part of the annual UCL Qurates.
Organizers will also be holding a sessions on Saturday, April 15 between 11am and 1pm in which visitors engage in sharing stories or drawings of their memories of Musheireb.
The museum is open every day except Sunday from 9am to 5pm. On Saturdays, the museum is open from 9am to 9pm, and opens at 3pm to 9pm on Fridays. More information can be found here.
Elvis Presley tribute concert
The region’s only official Elvis Presley fan club is hosting a concert this weekend that pays tribute to the life and works of the king of rock ’n’ roll.
Dean Z, an award-winning and internationally acclaimed entertainer, will take the stage this Thursday, April 13 at the St. Regis Doha hotel. Dean Z is renowned for his performances of songs by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash, among others.
The concert will take place starting at 9pm onwards. It will also include a sit-down song request portion where members of the audience can participate.
Bar tickets cost QR200. Regular tickets, which include one free drink, an assortment of snacks and a VIP Meet & Greet with Dean Z, cost QR350 a person. All tickets can be purchased online.
Palestinian heritage festival
The third edition of the Palestinian Heritage Festival at Katara kicked off last week and will continue until Friday, April 15.
Organized by the Qatari-Palestinian Friendship Association, the festival features dabka performances carried out by Al-Kofeya group.
There are also other musical performances, a fashion show, traditional Palestinian food and poetry evenings. Additionally, there’s an exhibition featuring Palestinian crafts and dishes.
The festival is currently being held at Katara’s Esplanade, gate 17.
Garden tools exhibition
A new exhibition that aims to educate residents about the essentials of gardening is currently being showcased at Qatar Foundation’s Recreation Center.
The exhibition, which is open until Thursday, April 13, is being organized by The Qur’anic Botanic Garden (QBG) and Public Parks Department. It also features some leading Qatari landscaping and agricultural organizations that will display a range of products and garden wares.
While there, visitors will also learn about the tools along with the technological advancements that are required for growing and maintaining orchards (both small and large-scale).
The exhibition is open today and tomorrow from 9am to 9pm. More information can be found on Doha’s Qur’anic Botanic Garden’s Facebook page.
QPO concerts
Two concerts by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) will take place this weekend at The Museum of Islamic Art and The Pearl-Qatar.
The MIA concert, which is held as part of the Qatar Germany Year of Culture 2017, will take place on Thursday, April 13. It starts at 6pm at MIA’s Art Atrium, and will feature Franz Schubert’s Death and the Maiden.
The Pearl-Qatar concert, which will be led by conductor Bob Ross, will take place on Friday, April 14 between 4pm and 5pm at Qanat Quartier.
Both concerts are free and do not require any tickets.
Bonus:
- Magical Festival Village: There’s only two weeks left to check out the souq-themed Magical Festival Village at Katara. This weekend, they are offering families a package in which they can buy a QR250 voucher that is worth QR425. The voucher includes a meal from Alice Café (QR50) along with credit charged to a video games ticket (QR200), a Cirque du Royal ticket for QR75 and another voucher worth QR100 for outlets. The festival will run until April 30 every day between 2pm and 10pm.
What are your plans for the weekend? Thoughts?
