DFC launches exclusive back to school celebrations

CATHERINE W GICHUKIDohaDoha Festival City has launched its latest Back to School campaign, themed ‘Festival Academy’, providing children and adults the feel of the actual classroom setup.The campaign, which started on July 24, will continue until August 20. It makes available to Mall visitors two stations -- the ‘Festival Academy’ located at Centre Court features a wide range of edutainment options for adults and children alike. The ‘Customisation Station’ located at the Entertainment Node, allows children to customise their school supplies to their taste.The ‘Festival Academy’ gives children and parents a glimpse of the new school year with its school yard and classroom designs, where children can enjoy a variety of edutainment activities, and participate in arts and crafts workshops. It is open from 2–10pm Sundays through to Wednesdays in the classroom which can accommodate 32 children at a time.On Thursday, the children were thrilled during the ‘Macky and Friends’ show where a puppet was used featuring a six-year-old character named Cyrus. In an interactive entertainment and education session, the children learnt about numbers, spellings and ‘virtues’ they should apply in their daily lives such as saying, ‘I’m sorry’ and many others.The academy will also feature a range of edutainment options from 4 – 10 pm Thursdays through Saturdays, including daily balloon twisting shows, face painting stations, ventriloquist performances, and spelling bees competition in English and Arabic languages where winners will receive celebratory plaques and trophies as a reward to take home. The shows will also feature daily visits by various multi-lingual guest speakers who will give 30-minute cultural lessons to children on other cultures, and topics relating to languages, important landmarks, and culinary preferences with a special focus on the upcoming anticipated sporting event and the 32 participating nations.The eye-catching ‘Customisation Station’, which features a giant brush will operate from 2 – 10 pm daily with a 24-child capacity, and will be the perfect platform that allows children over 4 years old to unleash their creativity and use the art supplies placed at the desks to customise their school supplies.A number retailers are also participating in the Back to School festivities including Skechers, Marks & Spencer, Kipling, Next, Borders and Daiso where they are showcasing the latest collections and trends of their signature school supplies and essentials.Doha Festival City’s General Manager Robert Hall said, "With the school season approaching, Doha festival City is inviting families in Doha to share the joy of going Back to School with an exciting line-up of activities designed to educate and entertain members of the community from all ages. Our exclusive collections of the latest and trendiest products designed for the season will also make children’s return to school more exciting and fun.”In line with the preventative measures set out by the State of Qatar to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), and to ensure a safe shopping environment for all, Doha Festival City commits itself to continuous health and safety measures throughout the mall. This includes a thorough mall disinfection treatment on a weekly basis, robust cleaning, and sanitization operations during mall trading hours, 127 hand sanitizing stations installed in the areas that have commonly touched surfaces. For more information on the mall’s operating hours, call on 4035 4444 or check https://www.dohafestivalcity.com/home/