Katara festivities spotlight region’s history, heritage

Visitors to the Cultural Village Foundation – Katara yesterday were treated to a kaleidoscope of events and activities, with organisers pulling out all the stops to make this year’s festivities a truly memorable experience.The festivities mirror the ceaseless efforts of Katara to offer the best and finest in entertainment, while promoting world-class talents in art, culture, literature, theatre and music. Judging from the inaugural day, this year’s celebrations are on course to surpass those of the previous years, in sheer scale and variety. The fact that the Eid al-Adha holidays coincide with the end of summer holidays for most educational institutions in Qatar, was seen by many as an added reason to visit the village and enjoy the atmosphere of revelry and celebration.Visitors to this year’s gala were treated to performances that were inspired by the region’s history and heritage. The highlights of the celebrations include a series of mesmerising shadow theatre performances based on the Tales of the Arabian Nights. The show, which makes use of light and sound effects, is a beautiful example of how technology blends with tradition to present history and culture in an appealing yet elegant manner.The shadow theatre performances are based on the Arabian tales, the history of the Roman Empire, Alice in Wonderland and the all-time favourite, Aladdin. The shows, which are half an hour each, take place thrice each evening, with the first show held from 6.30 pm to 7pm, the second from 7.45pm to 8.15pm and the last show taking place between 9pm to 9.30pm.Live acrobatic shows too, which were staged during the evening, became a huge hit among younger visitors. Keeping in mind that celebrations are meant to convey a sense of joy and surprise, the organisers presented gifts to children, much to the delight of their young guests. The distribution of gifts will continue between 7pm and 8.15pm each day. Firework displays have been a long-standing and much-loved feature of every Eid celebration at Katara. This year, visitors who had assembled at Katara’s beachfront found their wait well worth it, as the pyrotechnic display was one of the best to be organised by the Cultural Village so far, and was seen by many as a fitting finale to the first day’s events. The fireworks display is held at 9.30pm each evening and will continue until the fourth day of the festivities.