Arts and cultural performances and traditional food were the highlights of the annual Qatar National Day (QND) heritage festival of Georgetown University’s (GU-Q) Qatari Student Association (Al Liwan) held recently on its campus.
Qatari poet Hamad al-Buraidi, artist Nasser al-Kubaisi, Kanun player Essa al-Dosseri, musicians Abdulla al-Najar and Yassine Ayari from Qatar Music Academy, as well as artist Dham al-Kuwari attended the event.
At the Oxygen Park, volunteers also performed on stage while a number of locals concluded the celebration with a traditional sword dance.
“This festival is not only for Qataris but for students, staff, faculty and anyone who wants to know more about our culture and heritage,” said event organiser Haya al-Kuwari, a graduate majoring in Culture and Politics. She is also the founder of Al Liwan, a Qatari student club that hosted the event.
“We wanted all performances to be about Qatar because when I was young, the QND events featured artists who were indeed talented but were not locals. There is no shortage of Qatari talent,” al-Kuwari noted.
She said one of Georgetown’s goals is to educate the next generation of leaders with the needed critical thinking, problem-solving and teamwork skills. “These will allow them to shape the future of their communities.”
GU-Q dean Dr Gerd Nonneman lauded Al Liwan for a successful and well-organised staging to this year’s festival saying it provided a platform for cultural exchange.
He said the QND heritage festival also gave an opportunity for GU-Q students to support community development and at the same time learn about professional event management.
“The planning and organising this year’s celebrations are just the latest example of our students putting these skills to good effect,” the dean added.
Visitors enjoyed other festival highlights such as a photo booth featuring traditional costumes and scenery, famed Qatari graffiti artist Mubarak al-Malik demonstrating Arabic art, and a mini gallery featured the works of Qatari artist Moza al-Kuwari and Qatari cartoonist Abdulaziz Yousef.
A modern tent with majlis invited visitors to relax on beautiful textile cushions where traditional horsemanship gear was displayed on loan from Al Enna, a Souq Waqif vendor specialising in traditional Qatari tents and other equipment.
In addition, a local Qatari craftsman carved model dhows and henna artists created beautiful designs on visitors’ hands.
A group of Qatari women prepared traditional delicacies such as lgayimat or dumplings, and khubz rgag or flat bread.
Besides Karak Maganees and altseenat café, a buffet featuring traditional Arabic food as well as Qatari favourites cooked in the homes of student organisers was also prepared for visitors and guests.
Al Liwan’s goal is to promote and increase awareness about the language, culture and social heritage of Qatar through creative mediums, according to Haya.