By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter
Carnival games and extreme rides at the Entertainment City continued to attract a large number of visitors on the second day of the Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) 2015 yesterday.
Many children engaged themselves in a number of physical activities such as mini football game and basketball while the others spent their time at the inflatable playground.
While Doha residents remained to be the top festival-goers, the month-long QSF has also seen an increasing number of visitors from other GCC countries particularly from Saudi Arabia.
“We have observed that many vehicles parked here at the Doha Exhibition Centre (DEC) are from neighbouring countries,” said one of the festival staff who normally stays from 1pm to 11pm at the venue.
Themed as “Colour your summer,’ prizes for carnival and fun games such as minion stuffed toys enticed many visitors to play and spend the evening with their families at DEC.
For adults and older children, the thrill and excitement of extreme rides was irresistible. Fees begin at QR10 and go up. Cards for making the payment can be bought from booths at the venue.
Police at the Entertainment City continue to implement safety and security measures by scanning all the belongings of incoming visitors. The entire area is also being checked by the police and security personnel from time to time.
For other events and activities, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) announced that tickets for the ‘Doha Comedy Day’ will go on sale this week. It will be held on August 29 at 8pm at the Qatar National Convention Centre.
Tickets are available at DEC, Virgin Megastores branches and on the stores’ online ticketing portal. Ticket prices are QR145 (silver), QR195 (gold) and QR295 (platinum).
The stand-up comedy event will feature six renowned comedians from around the region who will inject humour and joy into the last few days of the festival.
“The routines will use comedy to talk about issues common to Gulf culture and every-day life, and we think the carefully-selected line-up for Doha Comedy Day will appeal to all audiences, residents and visitors,” said QTA’s festivals and events director Mashal Shahbik in a press statement.
The comedians are Badr Saleh, Ibrahim KhairAllah, and Fahd al-Betiri from Saudi Arabia; Ali al-Sayed from the United Arab Emirates and Ahmed al-Shimari from Kuwait. The group will offer concentrated doses of humour along with their Qatari host, Hamad al-Emari.
For QTA’s shopping promotions, many shops and boutiques at eight participating malls now offer various special prizes and promotions.
Shoppers can also get raffle coupons for every QR200 purchase for a chance to win BMW 7 series and Mini Cooper cars at weekly draws.
“We are confident that the exciting sales and promotions in numerous outlets across the mall along with the fun-filled weekend activities will delight our visitors throughout this month,” Hyatt Plaza general manager Feroz Moideen said.
Participating for the second consecutive year, he noted that they had been proactive and generous in supporting QTA’s initiatives such as the QSF.
A senior official of The Mall also echoed the same statement saying the staging of the festival annually particularly the shopping promotion campaign had benefited shoppers, their tenants and the mall. He said last year’s event was a huge success.
The QSF will continue until August 31 and it targets visitors from around the GCC with a range of entertainment activities for families in a festive and safe environment that reflects their culture and heritage.
QTA pointed out that this year’s edition is expected to drive up inbound tourism numbers with new attractions, such as special hotel rates and shopping promotions.
Colourful stuff toys entice visitors to play games.
