Qatar Marine Festival Guide by Qatar Happening

8/7/2019 Qatar Marine Festival Guide by Qatar Happening

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K

nowing and understanding where a country

comes rom allows a nation to use this

knowledge to enrich the present and gather

the wisdom to create a brighter uture. That

is the idea behind the Qatar Marine Festival(QMF). The biggest estival in the country was created

to inspire people about the valuable lessons rom the

past, portray the achievements o the present and get

a glimpse o whats ahead. The Qatar Marine Festival

Organising Committee aims to help in the development

o the country by enlightening the Qatari and expat

communities about Qatar's cultural heritage.

QMF is an annual educational, cultural and water-

centric event. Through a range o entertainment, leisure,

technological, scientic, sports and cultural events and

activities, the public is exposed to Qatars rich maritime

history. The estival revives all elements o Qatarsancestral way o lie. Aspects related to pearling and

water activities are the highlights o the event. QMF

celebrates the values o legacy, pride, enthusiasm, un

and unity o the ast-growing country.

The rst edition o the QMF took place last April

2010. The estival was a massive success, attracting

more than 80,000 people to the searont o the Katara

Cultural Village. The expectations or the second

edition are high, but the community surely wont be

disappointed because the organizers have lined up the

best entertainment available in the world.

THE EVENTSThere will be something or everybody at the QMF 2011.

There are many shows, activities, workshops and contests

taking place at the largest amily estival o the year.

Secrets o the SeaThe biggest and most spectacular theatrical production

ever staged in Qatar and probably in the region - will be

the core event o the QMF. Gino Landi will direct

Secrets o the Sea. The internationally known Italian

director has 50 years experience in television and theatre.

He has won 29 awards throughout his career. Over 95

per cent o the music was originally produced or the

tailor-made show and it was composed by more than

110 orchestral players. The big-budget musical tells the

story o Qatari people, their traditions and ambitions. The

soundtrack is a usion between west symphonic orchestral

music and traditional Qatari sounds. The show is a

combination o great visual and emotional impact. Qatar

has never witnessed a show o this magnitude.

Production Highlights

15,000 hours o rehearsals or dancers and

choreographers

20 containers o scenographic items

300 scene costumes

Over 300 perormers and sta are involved in the

organization and staging o the musical

QatariCelebrating

Maritime HeritageBy Jorge Granda

This month is celebration time for the people of Qatar, as thecountry gets ready to host another edition of the Qatar MarineFestival. QH gives you an extensive look into the event thatexplores the past, present and future of Qatar.

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The musical will start every day

at 8:00 p.m. or the durationo the estival. There are no

reserved seats or the musical.

A rst come, rst served basis

system will apply.

Baharna

(Our Sea)Want to see sea lie? There is no better place than the

Our Sea exhibit, which covers an area o 1,200 square

metres, eaturing a great variety o marine species,

including stingrays, seahorses, golden trevally, coral rees

o the Indo-Pacic region, moray eel, blue swimmer crab,jellysh, octopus and many more. The exhibit is home to

Qatars largest collection o marine lie. You cant get any

closer to the creatures o the deep. Visitors will also have

the chance to interactively eed and touch pools. It will be

an amazing opportunity to learn more about the wonderul

creatures o the deep ocean.

Seals ShowFor the rst time in Qatar, a specially designed theatre-

style venue with a pool and stage acilities was built to

host the most amazing seals show the country has ever

seen. Kids and adults alike will be amazed by our seals

brought rom Siberia to entertain the crowd in Qatar.Together with the help o their trainers Sabrina, Lapunya,

Monik and Stepa will perorm some incredible stunts. In

addition to the seals show, spectators will enjoy a Water

Ballet perormance. The seals show is a denite must

see event!

Schedule o Daily EventsAll the events will be held every day.

Program Time

Water Ballet dancing 6:30 p.m. 6:35 p.m.

Seals Show 6:35 p.m. 7:15 p.m.

Break 7:15 p.m. 7:45 p.m.

Water Pallet dancing 7:45 p.m. 7:50 p.m.

Seals Show 7:50 p.m. 8:30 p.m.

Dancing FountainsA beautiul show o dancing ountains, music and antastic

lights can be spotted at the searont o Katara every night

during the QMF. The show eatures a sea foating ountain

reaching 80m in width. It is truly a unique visual spectacle.

There is no similar show in Qatar.

Marine LibraryThe Marine Library will be a reading

paradise. The Childhood Cultural Center,

Waqi Art Centre, Environmental Studies

Center o QU, Cultural Development Center, Bloomsbury,

Jarir Bookstore and Virgin Megastore will all

contribute to the exhibitions interactive

activities, including storytelling, book

readings, meetings with authors

and book signings, a poetry

competition, a comic bookproject or kids and

much more.

TimingsWiththeexceptionoftheSecretsofTheSeamusical,SealsShowworkshopsandAlSeefCinem

a,alleventswilltakeplacefrom4:00p.m.to11:00p.m.continuouslyeveryday.

SPOTLIGHT ON COmmUniTY

Photo by 12-year-old

Maha Matar Al Marikhi.

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Lucinda Wierenga (Sandy Feet)

The American sculptor started carving sand in 1985. She

competes throughout the world, creating jaw-dropping

exhibits. She also oers sand castle classes and has

written three books on sand sculpting. Some o Wierengas

awards and accolades include: third place and Peoples

Choice at Valladolid (Spain) international competition,

rst place in Sandblasters '08, second place in both

Sandblasters '07 and Port Aransas Sandest and published

her new book Sandcastles Made Simple.

John Gowdy

Ater working as a reghter and beach lieguard, Gowdy

retired in 2006 and is dedicating the rest o his lie to

the arts, more specically sand sculpting. He has won

the North American Championship three times, won the

International Sand Sculpting Championship in Jesolo, Italy,

and is the current winner o the International Championship

in Cervia, Italy.

Helena Bangurt

European sand sculptor Helena Bangurt carves sand

sculptures both commercially and competitively. She has

won awards in many competitions, including some in

Sweden, Russia, Korea, Canada, Italy, Switzerland and

the U.S.

JOOheng Tan

Tan has been involved in the sand sculpting art or over a

decade. He is one o the best when it comes to coaxing

giant masterpieces. His participation in many estivals, as

well as his many awards, has positioned Tan as a master

sand sculptor.

Richard Varano

Rich Varano is a second-generation sand sculptor. His

ather was an amateur sand sculptor enthusiast. In his

twenties, Varano ully developed his skills and established

himsel as a proessional sculptor. He has won many

awards in dierent estivals and major competitions.

Ted Siebert

Siebert is an artist by background and training. His artwork

represents the perect combination between sand sculpting

and sports. Ted is the author o the acclaimed books The

Art of Sandcastlingand Sandcastle in A Box. Ted has been

recognized in the book The Sculpture Referenceas one o

288 leading contemporary living sculptors.

Jill Harris

Harris elt in love with sand sculpting 14 years ago and

since then she hasnt looked back. Together with her

partner, Thomas Koet, she has participated in many sand

sculpting competitions around the world, winning 1st Place,

Sculptors Choice awards, and other titles at these events.

Thomas Koet

Thomas rst started sculpting sand in the Netherlands

13 years ago. He has become an incredible sand sculptor,

winning many 1st Places, Sculptor's Choice and other

contest titles worldwide. Koet has designed some o the

largest sand sculptures in Europe.

David Billings

The Canadian artist is the proud owner o the Sandemons

Sand Sculpture Company. In 2001 and 2005, Billings won

the 1st place in the Master team category, along with the

Peoples Choice Awards at the World Championship SandSculpture Competition. He has won many other important

awards in dierent estivals and exhibitions around the

world.

Charlotte Koster

Koesters career kicked o in 2006. She has worked on

sand sculptures in Germany, the United Sates, Spain,

Latvia, Portugal and Canada, among many other countries.

Awards and accolades that Koster has received include:

World Championship Sand Sculpting Canada, Harris and

competition in Canada 08, 4th place Jury (with Michel

de Kok), Peoples Choice Award (with Michel de Kok) and

designing a suite or ICEHOTEL in Sweden.

THE SCULPTORS


SANDSKINGDOMTeninternationallyrenownedsandsculptorsfromallovertheworldwillgatherinQatartoshowcasetheirskillfullycraftedsanddesignsattheQMF.Theywillbecreatingtheirone-of-a-kindsculpturesinfrontofanaudience,aspartofacontest. Visitorswillbeabletovotefortheirfavouritesculptor.Butthefundoesntstopthere.Thepublicwillbealsoparticipatinginacompetition.Aworkshopwillbeofferedandparticipantswillhavethechancetocompeteagainsteachother.Thepublicwillchoosethewinnerthroughavote.

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VISUAL ARTSSYMPOSIUMDuring the 11 days o the QMF, the spectators coming

to the estival will have the opportunity to engage in

dierent artistic activities, including an Artist Symposium,

a Children and Youth Arts Symposium and two exhibitionsby well-respected artists.

Artists SymposiumTwelve artists rom the GCC countries will be painting

live (at least two artworks) or the visitors attending the

symposium. The artists will also be presenting two o their

artworks as a sample o their incredible talents.

The artworks painted live by the artists will be oered to the Qatar

Marine Festival Organising Committee.

Children and Youth Arts SymposiumChildren between ages six and 15 will be able to discover theirpassion or the arts and work on their creative skills. Sawsan

Mazboudi and Solagne Ahdab, both art proessionals and artists

themselves, will be co-ordinating and assisting in all the activities.

The maximum capacity per session is 30 participants. Each

session will last around one hour and 15 minutes and will

teach kids dierent painting techniques such as: mosaic, etching,

metal embossing and ceramic, among others. Each day a dierent

technique will be used during the activities. I you want to be part

o this amazing artistic adventure you have to pre-register on site,

as registration is compulsory. I the pre-registration limit is not

reached, then activities will be provided on a rst come, rst served

basis. A new project will be undertaken each day during the11-day run o the QMF. By the end o the symposium, all artworks

related to the marine lie will be oered to the Qatar Marine

Festival Organising Committee.

THE MASCOTThe organizers o the QMF

selected a sea horse rom Qatar to

be the symbol o the event. Bahoor,

the mascot that will add happiness

and colour to the estival, is

described as gentle, wise and

humble character. Bahoor will be

seen in all the activities related to

the QMF. He is very enthusiastic

about the uture but has greatadmiration and respect or the past.

DiDYOUKnOW?QMFalsoincludesyear-roundeventsandacommunityinvolvementprogramthatprovidesabridgebetweentheannualfestival.

WHERE WE ARE

EXHIBITIONSTwo renowned artists are going to be taking part in this very

special exhibition.

Artist Prizes

All 12 artists invited to participate in the Artists Symposium

will have the chance to take home a prize. Three well-known

art specialists will decide which artist will be awarded withthe prizes.

Judges

Yousse Ahmad (Qatar), Abdullah Al Mouharraqui (Bahrain),

Salman Al Malik (Qatar)

Prizes

1st Prize: QR 28,000

2nd Prize: QR 17,000

3rd Prize: QR. 10,000

The awards ceremony will take place the last day o the

estival on March 26 during the Visual Arts Symposium

Closing Ceremony.


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hotosprovidedbyQatarMarineFestival

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QATAR MARINE FESTIVAL

HOTLisT

Al seef Cinea

Wed 16th Sat 26th: Katara. Likemovies? Then this event is denitelyor you! Take in the wonders o anopen air cinema acing the sea!The documentary lms, moviesand animated shows will revolvearound marine lie. From 4:00 p.m.till 11:00 p.m. For more inormation,

visit www.qmoc.gov.qa

DancinFountain

Wed 16th Sat 26th: Katara.Expect the amazing rom aspectacular visual perormancethat mixes water, music and lights!The foating ountain will be 80metres in width and showcasewonderul eects or everyoneto enjoy. For more inormation,


QmF sportActivitie

Wed 16th Sat 26th: Katara. Withsun, sand and sports what morecould you ask or? Get into the actionand enjoy beach ootball, bossaballand sailing! For more inormation,


Al Freej

Wed 16th Sat 26th: Katara.Venture into a cultural village thateatures ascinating traditional events.Experience childrens games, seehandicrats, enjoy olkloric musicperormances, taste treats rom aca and capture the moment at thephoto studio. For more inormation,visit www.qmoc.gov.qa

sea giant

Wed 16th Sat 26th:Katara. Set your sights onthe magnicent gargantuan

sculptures o various sea creatures

that represent the marine lie

o Qatar. These six are crab,

askara, shark, star sh, shrimp

and hammour. Learn more about

these animals and participate in

daily quizzes and rafe draws to

win prizes! For more inormation,


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Documents

Qatar Marine Festival Guide by Qatar Happening