Amazing stunts, coffee-related contests, an interactive concert that reprises music from video games and art that makes you think are all on offer this weekend in Qatar. Here are our picks:
CHI Al Shaqab
CHI Al Shaqab, a prestigious equestrian event in which riders compete in jumping, dressage and para-dressage, opened today at 10:30am and runs through March 5 at the Al Shaqab stables in Qatar Foundation.
“CHI,” which stands for Concours Hippique International, is the official title given by the International Equestrian Federation (IEF) to international competitions with three or more equine disciplines. The Qatar edition is the only certified event in the Middle East and Asia, and is being streamed live online here.
This year, some 200 horses and world-ranking riders of all disciplines will compete in the event for some QR5 million in prize money. Qatar’s Olympic team who qualified for Rio 2016 Olympic Games will also participate.
For visitors, there is a separate festival area with pony rides, horse-carriage rides, a nursery and other activities. Food and beverages will be on sale.
On Wednesday and Thursday, day tickets cost QR20/adults over the age of 12 years old and QR10 for children over the age of six. On Friday and Saturday, tickets cost QR40 for adults and QR10 for children. Children five years old and younger and free.
Tickets are available online here and at the ticket booth in the Al Shaqab Spectator Plaza. Here’s the full program.
Coffee expo
Caffeine lovers are invited to the country’s first coffee expo, to be held from 10am to 10pm from March 3 to 7 at Katara Cultural Village’s esplanade.
“My Coffee, My Identity” is being held under the patronage of Sheikha Al Mayassa, chairperson of Qatar Museums. It was originally planned for November but postponed at the last minute.
The event is free and open to the public and will include exhibitors showcasing different kind of coffee, coffee tastings, international coffee competitions, live entertainment and artistic displays of the coffee-making process.
A barista competition will also be held simultaneously at the event, where local baristas will be required to create one espresso, one cappuccino, and one cocktail drink. Here’s the full program. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page here.
Video games live
The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra is hosting an immersive concert on Friday, March 4 at 8pm at the Qatar National Convention Center.
The event will feature music from some of the “most popular video games of all time” that has been created, produced and hosted by Tommy Tallarico.
The QPO will perform with top orchestras and choirs around the world, alongside synchronized video footage and music arrangements, synchronized lighting, well-known internet solo performers, electronic percussion, live action and unique interactive segments.
Tickets start at QR150 and go up to QR500/person and can be bought online here. The concert is open to anyone over the age of six years old. More information can be found online here.
Qumra screenings
The Doha Film Institute will host the second edition of Qumra this weekend to support local filmmaking through creative master classes with budding regional talent.
The event runs from March 4-9 and includes three main components: masterclasses for filmmakers, industry meetings and public screenings.
The screenings include films made by this year’s Qatar Masters as well as movies from “new voices in cinema.”
In the Masters category there is The Look of Silence (2014) by Joshua Oppenheimer, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011) by Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Russian Ark (2002) by Aleksandr Sokurov; The Mourning Forest (2007) by Naomi Kawase; and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2001) by Ang Lee (who is not in town for the event).
In the New Voices in Cinema segment, the films include The Palm Tree by Jasim Al Rumaihi; Mediterranea by Jonas Carpignano; Roundabout in my Head, and Waves 98 by Ely Dagher.
All screenings will be conducted at the Museum of Islamic Art auditorium. Tickets can be bought online here.
MotoGP test races
Test races ahead of the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar will take place at the Losail International Circuit this weekend.
From March 2-4, the MotoGP World Championship will spend their final three days of testing before the 2016 season gets underway at the same venue on March 20.
The event takes place from 4pm to 11pm today, tomorrow and Friday. Entrance to the grandstand is free for all.
@las exhibition
Qatar-based cartoonist Khalid Albaih will open his @las exhibition at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar gallery today. The exhibition will be run through March 21, with an official launch on Sunday, March 6.
Albaih, who became well-known for drawing the Arab Spring, has composed many cartoons about current events, technology, free speech and other developments in the region. The exhibition is free and open to all, and more information can be found online here.
Bonus:
- Concert at MIA: The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a free concert at the Museum of Islamic Art atrium at 6pm tomorrow, March 3. All are welcome to attend. More information is here.
- Qatar birds: Consultant ornithologist Neil G Morris will give a talk about “Discovering the Birds of Qatar” tonight (March 2) at 7pm at the Doha English Speaking School (DESS) in Madinat Khalifa South. Light refreshments will be served starting at 6:30pm and there will be a question & answer session afterwards.
- Latin American culture: A new exhibition called “Symbols of Latin America & the Caribbean” will open tonight (March 2) at Katara Cultural Village, Building 18 from 7pm to 10pm. It will feature photographs that represent 11 Latin American countries in five categories, including the capital of the country, the national animal, the national plant or flower, the national dish and historical monuments. More information can be found here.
What are your plans for the weekend? Thoughts?