QATAR: Marine festival in full swing in Doha

Record ID: 1538161

  • Title: QATAR: Marine festival in full swing in Doha
  • Date: 20th April 2010
  • Summary: QATAR UNIVERSITY STALL TWO WOMEN READING PAMPHLETS PEOPLE ENTERING BUILDING WHERE AQUARIUMS ARE HOUSED PEOPLE LOOKING AT AQUARIUMS HORSE SHOE CRAB IN AQUARIUM MAN HOLDING HORSE SHOE CRAB STARFISH IN MAN'S HAND MAN TAKING SEA CUCUMBER OUT OF TANK SEA CUCUMBER IN MAN'S HAND MORE OF PEOPLE LOOKING AT SEA CUCUMBER VARIOUS OF SEA LIFE
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2010 17:28
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Qatar
  • Country: Qatar
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA50P4ORFRWQATG928O5ITWX54P
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Qatar's marine festival kicked off on April 12 with a variety of events and exhibitions focussing on sea life and drawing on the country's rich seafaring heritage.
    The festival is the first of its kind in Qatar and is being held on the sea front under the theme ''Dive into the past, Sail towards the future.'' One of the members of the festival committee said one of the aims of the event is to educate people about the sea and what it has to offer.
    ''The festival is the first of its kind, it is not specialized in one specific area. It has five objectives: sport, education, entertainment, culture and environment. But each objective implies education and preservation of the environment,'' said head of the festival's press department Abdulaziz al-Isaac.
    Among the beach games at the festival is volleyball on an inflatable court. There are also fishing tournaments and sailing competitions scheduled during the 10 day event.
    Arts and crafts are also being featured at the festival, and children were busy attending workshops learning to make sand sculptures and paintings.
    Sand artists from the United States, the Netherlands, and England are taking part in the workshops and creating sculptures on the beach.
    Sand artist Remy Geerts said the sculptures being made are around the themes of pearl diving, sea life and Qatari culture.
    ''We are making sand sculptures that represent cultural heritage of Qatar and marine life. So we are making sand sculptures about pearl diving, underwater world, about the beautiful hotels that have been built here, and camels, things like that," said Geerts.
    Artist Anton Puleverenti was busy creating an installation close to the sea front.
    ''The main theme is marine life and I chose to express that through the Qatari pearl divers and other aspects of Qatar marine life like the sort of fish you see in the picture,'' said Puleverenti.
    Scores of visitors also headed to an aquarium to see creatures like crabs, starfish and sea cucumbers.
    The festival was opened on April 12 with an operetta entitled "The Pearl: From al-Dasha to al-Gafa," which tells of the history of the Qatari people and their life during pearl-diving times. The operetta provided audiences with an opportunity to look into Qatar's past and also showcased local traditions.
    Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, wife of the Emir of Qatar, was among dignitaries in attendance at the festival's opening performance.
    The marine festival will last for 10 days, running until April 21.
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