Lit Fest & A Fun-tabulous Bday Party

the dubai international festival of literature kicked off yesterday. we went today to check out the buzz of activities on the second day. we went straight to the festival square which is an open space at the heart of the mall - dubai festival city. there were performances in and outside of the square with stages on both sides, placed back to back.

shoppers can either watch the performances inside the confines of the mall, or outside in the open. under the sun. amidst the heat. it was an obvious choice for me!

the festival square @ dubai festival city

when we arrived, the choir group from dubai british school was getting ready to perform. adorable expressions, lovely voices but too bad the sound system was such that the sound echoed inaudibly across the square. audiences may sprawl on the floor all they want. there were bean-bags!


next, we caught a lovely performance by five talented teenagers from the english college. they performed an excerpt from the much loved tale, 'the wizard of oz'. khaleef sat watching, slumped on one of the many, many bean-bags at the square. so lepak!

once the performance was over, i wanted to take khaleef's photo with dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man, the lion and the witch - but right after the performance, the 'lion' in thick fur costume immediately said, "i'm going to change!" the heat definitely got to him!


then we went to check out the outside of the square, where a poetry recital had just ended. we walked straight towards the marina, and at the terrace which overlooks the marina was the time out kids' zone. khaleef hung out for awhile colouring and playing a couple of games. there was also a 'face painting' kiosk, but the kids looked too grotesque under all that bad painting by the staff - thanks, but i'll pass!

i was hoping i'd see more performances but i guess this would do, especially for khaleef. at least he enjoyed the 'wizard of oz' singing rather than making him sit through shakespeare monologues...

* * *

in the picts above : khaleef licking lollipop with azfar and sitting strangely quiet alongside hanaa

after a 'cultural' experience at dubai festival of literature, we headed to a friend's house to help meriahkan a birthday party for their son and daughter, the cheeky azfar and the adowable hanaa.

the party sucks!

ha ha. told fauziah i would write that!

the party was smashing! she and her amiable husband, fairoz welcomed us with warm smiles and big, big heart, stuffed us fat with all the delicious, cleverly chosen food (read: mandy) and kept the kids busy with a few games that brought the parents laughing in amusement.

they began with a doa-selamat session with the reading of surah Yaasin and then it's makan time!

i can't believe this BAD photograph is the only shot i have of the food!

the yummies in our tummies
the food was fantastic. period. what do you feel like having?

• they had my addictive fix, mandy - from a different place this one
• there's roti canai - with dhal and homemade curry made by the hostess herself
• there's domino's pizza for the kids
• assortment of agar-agar
• juicy, fatty doughnuts from krispy kreme
• and lots more yummies yummies yummies

...agh, i don't care about the other as long as i have my fix! mandy mandy mandy! good job, fairoz - and you better cancel that plan to get mandy kambing with khairul! he's had enough!


games, glorious games
khaleef was so tired afterwards he slept in the car all the way back home, woke up only to be forced to take a bath, and continued sleeping right after. that was how much fun he had! i applaud the hosts' initiative to organize and prepare the items for the games as well as the presents. on top of that, they managed the games well in spite of the screaming, yelling, shrieking toddlers running around, and having to repeat every instruction twice. or more!

tuan rumah with their bday babies - fairoz with azfar and fauziah with hanaa

before going back, we were sent off with an extremely generous portion of 'tapau' food - like what mr. khairul said, "we can make our own kenduri with this!"

thank you for having us, fauziah and fairoz - for the food, the presents for my boys and for the generosity and good company. i think i'll go heat up the mandy you gave me...