Festivals Archives - Undefined Declarations

Hamida Aman Builds Cultural Bridges and Promotes Peace Through a Community Music Festival

Children are seen scribbling messages of peace and tolerance on a big board, ahead of the “Salam Aleikum” peace concert at Zabeel Park on Friday evening.

Kabul-born Hamida Aman Organises a non-profit peace concert at Dubai’s Zabeel Park, under the Patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding

Featuring seven talented alternative music artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Africa, “Salam Aleikum” concert was held at Dubai’s Zabeel park for the first time.

The non-profit music festival aims to promote peace and cultural tolerance amongst the youth and to present a more positive image of Muslims to the rest of the world.

The concert is organised under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Cultural Understanding, by Hamida Aman, the General Manager of Guru Production, a Dubai Media City production company.

The centre supports community events, but this was the centre’s first community music project.

Nasif Kayed, Managing Director of Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding said: “We are all for any good cause that promotes peace between mankind, we are a non-profit organisation ourselves and always count on the support of our friends out there.”

Hamida Aman, Owner of a production company and radio station in Kabul, Afghanistan has organised a similar peace concert in Afghanistan two years ago.

“In 2013, I had a concert in Kabul for peace, where artists from neighboring countries performed in Kabul. It was very successful without any security problems.”

Since 2010, Aman has been based in Dubai as the General Manager of Guru Production, but she still visits Afghanistan regularly.

Hamida thought that it was the right time to bring the project to Dubai after a recent trip to Europe. She noticed the mainly negative perception that the West had of Muslims.

“I was very shocked that they had such a bad image of the Muslims,” she said.

The festival brings together artists from different cultures and backgrounds to communicate a positive message about Muslims and encourage peace and cultural tolerance.

Hamida adds: “We are not all terrorists. We are not all aggressive. We know how to be happy as well.”

“For me Dubai is one of the best places to celebrate togetherness. Here, all communities are living together in peace and harmony.”

Aman’s personal experience as a refugee in Switzerland for half of her life strongly inspires her peace-focused projects and initiatives.

“Because I know what war is, what is destruction and what it means to be a refugee and to go in exile, it’s important that we keep fighting to avoid this for future generations,” she said.

“My generation always lived in war and exile, and I don’t want this to continue happening in other places.”

The alternative artist line-up featured musicians whose songs carry powerful messages.

Hamida plans to organise future peace concerts in other Middle-Eastern cities.

“This is the first one in Dubai, and I hope that I will manage to bring it to Jordan, Lebanon and to Cairo eventually – to make a caravan,” she said.

The non-profit initiative will continue to spread the message of peace, and will always be for the community.

“The concert is for a cause and I want to keep it like that,” Hamida says.

“I would like to keep it like that – always for free.”

YouTube Video link:

A short video recorded at the venue while Indian Reggae band, Delhi Sultanate were performing on stage at the “Salam Aleikum” music festival at Zabeel Park on Friday:

http://youtu.be/nMgXhHcWUh8

“Salam Aleikum” peace concert’s logo celebrates the harmony and connection of youth from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

The word “Salam” means peace in Arabic. Artists in Zabeel park painting the letters of the word “Salam” ahead of the concert start on Friday.

Indian reggae band duo Delhi Sultanate and Begum X perform songs of equality, community, and positivity at the first ever Salam Aleikum peace concert at Dubai’s Zabeel Park on Friday.

My Heavenly Valentine’s with Yoga Fest ME :)

My plan for the day involved working on my essay that’s due this Monday, then going for two yoga sessions at Dubai’s coolest outdoor yoga event: Yoga Fest, before going back home for more essay research. But after my visit to the event, I changed my original plan and decided to write this post instead of working on my University assignment, because I didn’t want people to miss out on this great event!

Yogafest is a free sustainable community event that takes place once a year in Dubai Internet City’s Ampitheater. The event brings together teachers and yoga enthusiasts in a peaceful outdoor setting. All while supporting charities and great causes.

The outdoor setting of the event was so peaceful and perfect for doing yoga, pilates or meditation. The DIC Ampitheater is located at the lake side, which means that you get to do yoga beside a lake with a nice fountain. While doing our Yin yoga, I could hear the sound of the birds chirping. That added more serenity to the already relaxing experience.

Throughout the event’s two days, you can attend classes for free at the different tents spread across the green patches of grass. Being able to lay on the grass is a great luxury for us here in the UAE, so me and my friend Olivia were happy just being in the great outdoors and breathing some fresh air.

All the classes at the event are free except for the Pilates and family tent classes. Those have limited space in them and are therefore not included in the day pass. You can find all the information about registration and the classes schedule on the web site.

I can’t even begin to describe how well-planned and organized this event was. And this comes as no surprise when you know that the founder of this great community initiative, Elaine Kelly is a fitness teacher with a strong corporate background.

Although the event only takes place once a year, there is a regular full moon yoga every month at the same location. It is also free of charge….the next one is on the 14th of March. So mark your calendars now!

But since my friend Olivia and I enjoyed our yoga sessions so much, I would suggest that you head out there tomorrow and not wait for next month. It’s the best way to spend your day or afternoon or evening and you will leave feeling energized and blessed.

Olivia’s friends who saw her after the yoga sessions told her that her skin was glowing. I felt more at peace with myself…more positive and thankful for my life. I even decided to write this review instead of postponing it to next week, because I wanted to share my experience with the readers before the festival ended.

So, if you could take some time out tomorrow to do one thing, let it be a visit to Yogafest 🙂

In the end, I want to wish all the single people out there a great Valentine’s…one in which they learn to love themselves more and appreciate the simple things that life gives us every day.

And remember to always embrace life and your present situation, whatever it is…even if you are tired of being alone. There are so many things to discover and explore….endless experiences and moments of joy to share with others.

One of the things that I like about being single is being able to constantly learn new things and try out different experiences…so if I ever meet someone interesting and compatible, he must be up for full moon yoga at Yogafest’s tranquil outdoor tent 🙂

Yogfest's tranquil outdoor setting — Yogfest’s tranquil outdoor setting

Olivia in a moment of pure bliss and peacefulness

For more information, check out the Yogafest ME Facebook Page.

Event Review: The UAE International Coffee & Tea Festival

“Did you know that the UAE is the only country that has a coffee pot on its currency?”

I never really paid any attention to this fact until Sofia Khan, Marketing Manager at the International Conferences & Exhibitions organization told me about it as I sampled a freshly brewed cappuccino at the espresso and brew bar.

The espresso bar was one of many stands at the fifth edition of the Dubai Coffee & Tea Festival. An event that brings together coffee and tea exhibitors, talented baristas and caffeine addicts like me 🙂

The cappuccino made from Nicaraguan coffee beans was not my first coffee cup for the day. In fact, from the time that I had arrived at the caffeine-infused trade show and while waiting to meet with the organizers to get quotes for my journalism feature story, I had been sampling various types of coffee from the different exhibitors. So by the time I had met with the organizers, I was already in an extremely hyper and high-energy mode! The caffeine high left me with no choice but to attack the organizers with my endless questions on everything from the event aim and vision, to the coffee industry in the UAE, the types of coffee and tea and the coffee roasting and brewing process!

I even sat in a corner of the hall near the organizers’ section and I had what one of the organizers called “my own office”!

I greatly enjoyed my conversation with the event director, Ryan Godinho. Ryan had so many interesting facts to share with me about coffee and about the event.

For example, did you know that there are more than 50,000 types of coffee? and more than 200,000 tea varieties?

Ryan, who started his career as an apprentice barista in Australia, also spoke to me about the progressive coffee industry there, the developed cafe culture and the highly-respected and well-paid barista profession.

The event wasn’t only about exhibitors promoting their coffee products or coffee machines though. The event hosted SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) certified training workshops. These programs covered coffee grading and evaluation techniques, coffee preparation and craft roasting skills.

Another main feature of the show was the National Barista Championship. In which local baristas compete in front of an International panel of judges who came from various destinations. The winner of the UAE Championship gets the opportunity to represent the country at the 2014 World Barista Championship taking place in Rimini, Italy.

I was also delighted to speak to Anselm Godinho, Managing Director at the International Conferences & Exhibitions organization. Anselm explained to me about the event and the coffee industry from a rich business perspective. He gave me insight on a lot of topics including the original route of coffee history. He said: “Coffee was first discovered in Ethiopia, then moved to Yemen, Turkey, Austria and finally London.”

Anselm helped answer my query about the lack of organic coffee exhibitors by explaining to me that there is no certifying body for organic coffee. In addition, organic coffee looses a lot of its positive effects through the heating process. That’s why it’s not very common to brew organic coffee.

After noting down a total of 23 pages of quotes and information at the show, I think I can confidently say that I was undoubtedly alert with extremely high energy levels from all the coffee that I sampled at the event!

With a gold-trimmed box containing an exotic selection of Swiss luxury organic tea blends and highly informative and interesting conversations with friendly event organizers, who wouldn’t want to return to the UAE International Coffee & Tea Festival next year?!

I know I definitely will…if not for another blog post or feature story, at least to gratify my uncontrollable coffee addiction 🙂

Boon Coffee: Ethiopian Beans Roasted in the UAE

My Complimentary Luxury Organic Tea Blends :) — My Complimentary Luxury Organic Tea Blends 🙂

My Electronic Dance Weekend!

Honestly speaking, I’m not a huge fan of dance or techno music. I grew up listening to all different genres of music, and dance was an occasional thing on my play list. Maybe mostly when I was working out. Another reason is the fact that I’m a 90’s girl. So if I wasn’t listening to Michael or Janet Jackson or Madonna, then I would be singing along to Boyz II Men or Lenny Kravitz! Yes, It was a wild mix of tastes and music types.

But since the world-renowned Dutch musician, DJ and record producer Tiesto was coming to town, I had to reconsider my music taste preferences. The show was being held at an indoor venue. Which doesn’t really suit me much. As the weather in Dubai is at its best at this time of the year, so it would be great to attend an outdoor concert. Plus, the place was packed with crazy dance music fans, who were jumping vigorously the whole time. This only meant one thing: you couldn’t keep track of the number of times that your toes got stepped on, or you were hit by someone’s arms or body while they were dancing and jumping around. Not the best concert experience, I tell you.

I must admit that my second dance music concert for the weekend was more fun and enjoyable. It was the EDMX concert part of the “My Music X” festival at Nasimi Beach, Atlantis. The stage was set outdoors at a spacious area, the ground was covered with sand as it was at the beach, and the visual effects and graphics were simply outstanding. The EDMX night featured famous artists including: Example, Sander Kleinenberg, ATB, Marco V, Miss Nine, Judge Jules and many others.

Hearing Example perform took me back in time to their new year’s eve concert in 2009 when I was living in London. I truly enjoyed singing along to their hits and reminiscing on my glorious London days. ATB is another great dance artist that I used to listen to when I was younger. So many of his tracks were famous hits that everyone could sing along to.

Aside from the stunning graphics and visual effects at the stage, there was blazing fire as well! it was an impressive show that got the crowd pumped up. And the venue wasn’t packed, so there was plenty of space for everyone to dance around and practice their moves.

So I would say that I enjoy listening to dance music with vocals as opposed to just repetitive beats with no vocals. And of course, famous hit songs that I am familiar with and can sing along to, would definitely make for an amazing night at the sands of Nasimi Beach, Atlantis.

the crowd at Tiesto's show — the crowd at Tiesto’s show

Gourmet Food, Sun and Live Music!

Taste of Dubai is a fun outdoor festival revolving around food and music. It’s held annually at the Dubai Media City Amphitheater; the same area where the Christmas festival took place and I wrote a post about it here.

It was a Friday, and on that day the festival started in the morning and went on until midnight. I didn’t have a set time as to when I would go, but I was glad that I went during the afternoon (around 4:30) and stayed till around 8:45 in the evening. I was also thankful that I put some sun protection cream on my arms before heading out, because it was sunny and the sun cream did help me get a nice tan.

What most of you would be wondering now is what did I eat? Well, let me show you with pictures:

Steak fillet with a crab cake on top from Ruth's Chris Steak House — Steak fillet with a crab cake on top from Ruth’s Chris Steak House

Sirloin Steak Cubes with Potato Gratin from Seafire Steakhouse and Bar

Dulce de Leche Creme Caramel (Asado) and Chocolate Mousse (Ritz-Carlton)

I would have to say that my favorite dish was the sirloin steak with potato gratin from Seafire steak house. It was perfectly made and tasted so good. The other steak I had from Ruth’s Chris steak house was kind of average. Maybe the combination of crab cake with the red meat didn’t appeal to me that much. And although the seafood Phad Thai from Mango tree was good, I must admit that I did regret filling my stomach from their stand, mainly because I had recently eaten there with my dad a few weeks back. And so, a better choice for me during the festival would have been to sample other restaurant’s dishes. Especially the ones that I don’t get the chance or time to dine at on normal occasions.

Another choice that I regret making was the creme caramel from Asado. When I was at their stand, I asked the lady if she would recommend the Dulce de Leche creme caramel or ice-cream, and I went with her answer. However, only to be disappointed and wishing that I had went for the ice-cream instead! Yes, that was what I was thinking the whole time that I was eating that creme caramel, which I must admit that I didn’t even finish! And that folks, is a big deal for someone who never leaves a grain of rice in her plate, because there are millions of people starving all over the world! I was greatly satisfied with my chocolate mousse biscuit-like cake from the Ritz though. I even took the second piece with me home and devoured it the next day 🙂

When I saw that there was a Mexican stand after I had already had my mains and desserts, me and my friend decided to try out Maya’s (the famous high-end Mexican eatery) guacamole. Which we both thought was surprisingly below average.

With prices ranging between 20 to 30 Dirhams for most dishes, I would say that Taste of Dubai is worth visiting if you love food and don’t mind paying that amount of money for a small portion from a high-end, gourmet restaurant.

The main attraction of the festival, well to me at least, had to be the opportunity to sit outside in a park-like atmosphere with the company of good friends and great live music.