Katara - The Cultural Village - has hosted about 20,000 visitors during the Garangao celebrations.
Garangao Night in Katara was organised in collaboration with the Childhood Cultural Centre and it featured a number of festivities that reflected the spirituality of the Holy Month.
During the event, the Cultural Village recreated the traditional feel of Garangao celebrations by giving children the opportunity to go door-to-door down its winding alleys, calling out for candies and gifts.
The festival spread the spirit of the old times in an atmosphere characterised by the history of Qatar through the buildings of Katara and its traditional nature.
The celebrations began with a theatrical concert at 7pm, followed by several events in Building 12. An open day was held on the occasion, which included a number of entertaining events related to the national heritage, educational activities such as Alhzayah or Arrawi (narrator), who discussed cultural and historical subjects, as well as the traditions of Qatari people in celebrating Garangao.
Katara public relations and communication department director Malika Mohamed al-Shuraim expressed satisfaction at the turnout of visitors, saying: “Katara’s celebration for Garangao this year have been exceptional as it has grabbed the attention of thousands of attendees. It is aligned with the spirituality of the Holy Month and the objectives of the Cultural Village pertaining to the revival of Qatari heritage and traditions.”
Al-Shuraim noted that the significant turnout of attendees reflected the level of trust the Qatari community had in Katara. She also said the festivities at Katara during Garangao thrilled both children and adults. “It was noticed that both Qataris and expatriates were keen to mark this traditional event,” she added.
Highlights of the Garangao night included activities such as a puppet theatre, reading corner, an art workshop, short story writing, a photography corner, handcraft corner, talented people corner and traditional games fabricating corner. Children also had the opportunity to play traditional games such as Al Dahroa, Al Jiss, Al Sabh and others.