Oman, Muscat Festival Started

GULF football champion Oman has reasons to celebrate and the Muscat Festival has opened the floodgates of celebrations for its residents and visitors from abroad. The festival, which will continue for nearly a month (25 days), gives its residents an opportunity to celebrate with the organisers allowing free entry into the festival’s main venue, Naseem Garden, as an incentive.

The entry fee at Qurum Natural Park, however, is fixed at 200 baisas per visitor. The third venue, which is dedicated mainly to sport events, is located at the Seeb beach. The Qurum Natural Park is showcasing an array of cultural, heritage, amusement and general entertainment shows. The big attraction here is the Heritage Village, which provides a gamut of insights into Oman’s diverse cultural and traditional heritage. In addition, there will be daily competitions involving the 23 chapters of the Oman Women’s Association from around the Sultanate.

To mark its beginning many visitors turned up at the main venue of the 2009 edition of the Muscat Festival. “Being the first day of the festival we were not expecting much crowd but the response is good as many parents chose to come to the festival with their kids on the very first day,” said Ali Hussain al Aidarus of Child Village.

Managed by Sahara Exhibition Organisers, the Child Village caught the imagination of the children and their parents due to its children-specific ideas. The village has more than seven counters dedicated to sports, painting or art section, technology, archaeology, beach sand playground, agriculture and music.

“The idea behind the Child Village is to give complete freedom both to children and their parents in enjoying the festival. Parents can leave their children in the Village, where they are creatively engaged in various activities, leaving the parents free to enjoy themselves,” said Ali. Will the change in venue affect turnout at the festival?

“Not at all. Because we are expecting more visitors from Barka and adjoining areas this time. The festival has left special impact on the residents of Oman and people from every corner of the Sultanate love to visit the festival,” said Ali. Given the huge popularity of the Muscat Festival, the sprawling Naseem Garden on the outskirts of the city is seen as an ideal alternative to the usual venues within the capital that inevitably tend to generate huge traffic jams.

On the opening day Muscat Municipality officials, organisers and shop owners were busy ensuring that everything is in place to welcome the visitors. “The coming days are going to be very hectic for us. From this weekend we are expecting huge rush and our business will also pick up,” said Mohammed Fahmi of Umda Fashion. Mohammed is participating in the Muscat Festival for the last four years with his readymade ladies garments stall.

Hilal al Hamim of Barka is participating in the Muscat Festival with Omani halwa stall for the last four years. “Though I have many other businesses, I prefer to serve hot halwa to the visitors as this is our speciality and of course, I make good money out of it,” he said. In the coming days the visitors at the garden will witness road shows and carnivals in addition to concerts by Indian, Russian, American and African artistes.

The vast majority of this year’s festival offerings will be held at the Garden. Daily events include international folk dances, skills displays, magic shows, circus acts, fashion shows, games and other entertainment. For sports enthusiasts, there’s a dedicated Sports Station offering opportunities for a game of billiards, ping-pong, football, rodeo and fencing. In all, 32 countries are taking part in the festival with daily performances of traditional dances.

Spread over an area of 750,000 square metres, Naseem Garden, is an ideal location for the main events. The people can enjoy the greenery while engaging themselves in festival activities. The place is also secured for kids and the overall atmosphere is relaxing for all. Naseem Garden happens to be a special venue for the festival as it carries the status of being the first park to be established in Oman, inaugurated during the celebrations of the 15th National Day in 1985.

It took about 11 months to be built and it is about 30 kilometres from Muscat International Airport. It is located on the highway that leads to Batinah area. The park is equipped with all the facilities of a children’s park as there are different games like the small train that tours the whole area, playgrounds for football, volleyball and tennis as well as a library.

In the year 2000, a small Japanese Garden was added to the garden. Built by the Japanese embassy in Muscat, the park was constructed to commemorate the good relationship that the two countries shared. Amongst many other features the park has an Arabic garden, Japanese garden, mini falaj system and a small train capable of holding 70 passengers, which circumnavigates the park.

Festival Plaza at Naseem Garden is the biggest attraction. Another entertainment counter named as FunCity is a vast amusement zone that has all the trappings of a fantasyland complete with neon-lit carousels, thrill rides and games of skills. The FunCity has 20 different amusements and thrill rides. It has 10 games of skill that cater to fun-lovers of all ages.

The FunCity has usual offerings of carousels, merry-go-rounds, whirligigs, flying horses, roller coasters and roundabouts. The new items at the amusement counter include a number of new rides such as the Free Fall Tower, Top Spin, Crazy Breakdance and Space Jam. There are rides for all age groups from toddlers to adults with an appetite for thrill and excitement. Visitors can also try their luck winning some prizes in a wide selection of skill games offered in FunCity.