“The (month-long) event is progressing well and a large number of people take part in the activities that are happening,” QTA’s tourism events and festival organisation section head Alshaima Alshaikh told reporters recently.
Shop Qatar’s first two themes – Arabian Week and Bollywood Week – attracted fashion designers, enthusiasts and students to fashion shows, masterclasses, and workshops across the country.
Alshaikh said such new and unique initiatives in this edition generated a lot of interest among residents who were given the opportunity to further develop their creativity.
In collaboration with Qatar Development Bank, the festival also set up 30 pop up shops at Mall of Qatar, providing a platform for more than 50 entrepreneurs to promote and showcase their products.
Startups or home-based entrepreneurs, artisans, designers and crafts people benefit from this initiative since they usually rely on social media to market their products and services.
Meanwhile, the Shop Qatar tours at Souq Waqif for men, women and families will run until Saturday.
Organised by festival partner Embrace Doha, this one and a half-hour activity (5pm to 6.30pm) caters best for foreign tourists, new arrivals and “those looking for something new in Doha.”
An expert will lead at least eight to 15 people through a stroll at the souq to discover fabrics, thobe tailoring, perfumes, art, traditional food and coffee, and handicraft, among others.
Meanwhile, the International Week also saw renowned fashion designers such as Alejandro Resta showcasing their latest collections at the International Fashion show at Mondrian Doha recently.
Renowned make-up artist and designer Joyce Bonelli, who has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, will conduct her make up masterclass Friday at Doha Festival City (DHFC) from 6pm to 8pm.
QTA also encourages residents to take part in several remaining free pop up workshops at different malls until tomorrow such as Russian ribbon embroidery (Mall of Qatar), Turkish pottery and ceramic painting, African tribal mask-making, and Malaysian kite-making (all alternating across malls).
Shoppers will have the chance to be among the 15 winners who will take home cash prizes or brand new BMW cars at Shop Qatar’s final raffle draw on February 8 at DHFC.
Each shopper gets a voucher for every QR200 spent at participating malls. Receipts can be combined from multiple different stores.
Pop up shops at MoQ showcase various products
Shop Qatar 2018 continues to witness a high footfall at various locations on its third week as residents and visitors avail of the retail, entertainment and professional offerings, a Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) official has said.
