Category: Events

I passed by the Royce Gracie event at Al-Arabi Club. I got to meet Abdulmohsen Al Babtain who brought Royce Gracie to Kuwait and is behind the Mixed Martial Arts SideKick Academy. A pretty cool and friendly guy who is doing a really great thing for Kuwait. He also introduced me to Royce Gracie which was a jaw dropping experience.

Royce Gracie is a legend and I can’t believe he’s here in Kuwait. I was kind of star struck and didn’t know what to say but then Royce asked me where I was from and I told him Lebanon so he started telling me how he loves Lebanese food and how he might be going there this summer. I then took some photos with him and even got him to put me in a choke hold. It was a great day.

I passed by the Concours d’Elegance today at Marina Mall to check it out. Since it was Friday it was pretty packed with people but since there was lots of room and lots of cars to check out, it didn’t feel too crowded. If you haven’t passed by do so since today (Saturday) is the last day of the event.

On a similar subject, I’ve been invited to the Shiro Nakamura event which is also today. Shiro Nakamura is the Senior VP of Nissan and Infiniti worldwide. More importantly (for me at least) he is also the Chief Creative Director for Nissan and Infiniti and the guy behind the design of the Nissan GTR. Will take pictures and post about it once I get back from that event. Maybe if I’m lucky I will get to meet him.

The Ahmadi Music Group with Kuwait Jazz Collective present the musical production of Gideon.

Gideon recounts the ancient story of the boyish warrior-prophet who rises from obscurity as the “youngest in the poorest family in the smallest tribe” of all his people. He assembles an army to defeat the Midanite oppressors, who are “like grasshoppers for multitude”. His untrained army approach their enemy under cover of darkness, holding no weapons, but only a dish, a lantern, and a trumpet. On his signal, they break the dishes, wave the lanterns, and blow the trumpets, causing confusion and panic among Midanites, and gaining a great victory. Gideon then reigns as a righteous judge for forty years.

The Ahmadi Music Group are made up of 60 plus singers from many different nationalities here in Kuwait. They will be playing at the Tarek Al Ali Theater in Maidan Hawalli. I honestly hadn’t heard of them before today neither did I know there was a theater in Maidan Hawalli so all this sounds very exciting. Should be an interesting event to go to.

They will be playing on the following dates:
7:00PM Monday 25th, January 2010
7:00PM Tuesday 26th, January 2010
7:00PM Wednesday 27th, January 2010

For tickets call 66184192
You can visit their website for more information on the group plus a map to the theater. [Link]

Animal Friends and K’S PATH will be hosting its bi-annual Shelter Open Day where everyone is invited to come out, visit with the animals and learn all about their rescue and care. Visitors will be able to walk the dogs, cuddle the cats, play with the puppies, brush the donkeys, watch the baboons and so much more. The weather is beautiful, so come and make a day of it.

When: Friday 29 January, 2010, 11:00am to 3pm
Where: Animal Friends Shelter and K’S PATH sanctuary in Wafra
Cost: Free, although we certainly appreciate donations
Notes: Please leave your own pets at home and refreshments will be available for sale.

Huge Yard Sale — antiques, collectibles, book worm’s treasure trove, gently used infant clothing and toys, gently used adult clothes and shoes, Indonesian teak furniture, home wares, gourmet kitchen gadgets, dishes, pots and pans and so much more. Come on over and rummage through the goods and you might find a treasure. All funds will go to support Animal Friends.

When: Saturday 6 February, 2010, 10:00am to 3pm
Where: Fintas, Block 4, Street 11, House 29
Notes: Refreshments will be available for sale.

Just a reminder, today (Saturday) is the last day of the Gulf Run car show at 360 Mall. All the Gulf Run cars are displayed around 360 Mall on the outside with a few inside. The raffle for the Vespas will also be held tonight at 8PM. It’s a great chance to check out the cars up close plus the weather is great so see you there.

After my session at Core Fitness I passed by the Al Falah car wash in Kuwait City where the Gulf Run cars were getting all nice and shiny and having their sponsors decals stuck. I took a few pictures which you can check out below and a video which I will post later be.

[YouTube]

Just a reminder since some of you were asking in my previous GulfRun post. Tomorrow and after tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) the Gulf Run cars will be on display at 360 Mall from 10AM to 10PM. In addition to that there will be a GulfRun stand selling gear and raffle tickets to a Vespa. The money from the raffle tickets will be going to the Hayat Cancer Foundation. In addition some of the profits from the female gear will also being going to the Hayat Cancer Foundation.

They will be selling long and short sleeve polos and sweatshirts and hoodies in both white and black. I have the long sleeve white polo (pictured above) but will also be getting the black short sleeve polo.

Tonight starting at 5:30PM onwards all the cars participating in this years Gulf Run 5 will be getting a wash and sponsorship decals placed at the Al Falah Car Wash in Kuwait City. If it’s anything like the previous years it should be a fun gathering. Tomorrow the cars will be going on display at 360 Mall so if you can’t make it tonight you’ll still be able to check out all the cars this weekend.

[YouTube]

I had a hard time starting this post because I couldn’t find the right words to describe Royce Gracie. He is the first ever UFC champion dating back to 1993. He’s also the younger brother of UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie. Back then there were no weight classes in the UFC so you had big and heavy fighters against smaller and skinnier ones and Royce Gracie proved to everyone that size didn’t always determine the outcome of a fight. You can view his fights on [YouTube] and you can read more about him [Here]

The reason I am posting this is because Royce Gracie is coming to Kuwait for a 3 day seminar on the aspects and fundamentals of Gracie Jiu Jits. Royce himself will be teaching and participating in the sessions. Students will also get to roll with Royce, take pictures and sign autographs. I asked if people with no martial arts experience (like me) could participate and turns out we can. After the first day, students will be split into two groups (beginners & advanced) and both will be under Royce’s instruction and supervision.

The seminar will be a 3 day event, 3 hours a day, and will cost KD100. Here are some more details:

Abdulmohsen Al Babtain’s Mixed Martial Arts SideKick Academy are proud to present UFC legend Royce Gracie to celebrate the pending launch of the academy Gracie will be conducting a 3 day seminar on the aspects & fundementals of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. Learn from the man who started it all.

Location: Al-Arabi Sporting Club, Basketball Arena
Date: January 21st, 22nd & 23rd, 2010

To reserve your place in the seminar or have any queries regarding the event contact the following :

Telephone: 94006344/66488858

Email: [email protected]

Here is a link to their website. [Link]

The GulfRun car show will be taking place next this week at the 360 Mall with a variety of race cars and super cars on display. The event will be taking place over a two day period which is January 15th and 16th.

There will also be a raffle on January 16th at 8pm for two special edition GulfRun Vespas, a GulfRun pearl white Vespa and a special edition black Vespa. All proceeds of the raffle will be donated to the Hayat Cancer Foundation.

So pass by, enjoy the cars and please make sure you buy raffle tickets from the GulfRun booth at 360 Mall.

PechaKucha Night #4 will be held this Thursday January the 14th.
20 images x 20 seconds to be presented by:

Roa Al-Shaheen
Reham Al-Sharif
Valerie Buchheit
Barrak Al-Babtain
Zed Alrefai
William Schuilenberg
Alia Al-Ghunaim
Rabaa Al-Hajri and Ahmed Al-Majed
Maryam Al-Hamad

Date: Thursday January 14th 2010
Time: 7:30 pm
Place: The Scientific Center: In the back near Costa
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/kuwait-city
Facebook group: Pecha Kucha Kuwait
Contact number: +965 99480664

Watch the previous PechaKucha Nights [Here]

[YouTube]

I passed by the RC track near 360 Mall today to check out some of the races. The Radio Control Car Club of Kuwait (RCCCK) had an official point race today and I was really hoping to spend all day there watching the races but ended up leaving early due to other engagements. But I did manage to shoot two videos which show the full track, prep area and a start of a race. It’s very organized and very proper and I wish I had a car to participate in the races since it looks like a lot of fun.

[YouTube]

I just found out that UFC 112 is going to take place in Abu Dhabi. Not only that but BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Anderson Silva, Vitor Belfort and Renzo Gracie are all scheduled to fight! I’ve been wanting to watch a UFC fight for ages but always found it too expensive to travel to the US or Europe just to watch a fight and come back but Abu Dhabi is right next door. I would really have liked to watch a Frank Mir or GSP fight but Anderson Silva is the next best thing and BJ Penn and Matt Hughes are also really fun to watch so it should be a blast.

UFC 112 is taking place on April 10th. Can’t wait to get my tickets, I really want something on the floor around the octagon. [Link]

Note: If anyone knows where I can get tickets from (like super good blood splatter zone seats) please tell me.

For the first time ever the Concours d’Elegance is going to be held in Kuwait this month. I honestly never heard about Concours d’Elegance before today but after doing some research it turns out to be a pretty important and prestigious event. Here is some information which I took from the official event website:

What is the Concours d’Elegance?
Concours is a French word meaning competition. The concept of Concours originates in 17th C. France when aristocrats used to choose their best horse carriages to parade around parks of Paris during the summer week ends and holidays. Later these traditions changed to automobiles from the 20th C. Concours today have strict regulations and cars are inspected by qualified judges. Trophy winners are carefully chosen.

Kuwait Concours d’Elegance Highlight
The first Kuwait Concours d’Elegance set to take place on January 2010 will highlight the great passion for automobiles that the country has had ever since the 1910’s decade when the first car, a Belgium-made Minerva, arrived on its shores. In fact, the year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary since the first car entered Kuwait thanks to Sheik Mubarak bin Sabah Al Sabah (1896-1915).

Date
January 20th to 23rd 2010
10:00AM – 10:00PM

Location
Marina Mall interior, Marina Crescent and Marina Lawn.

It should be a very cool event and its taking place right next to my house so I will definitely be passing by. The designer of the Nissan GTR will also be at this event, Shirō Nakamura who is the Senior VP of Nissan and Infiniti.

For more information here are some links:
Concours d’Elegance – Kuwait
Concours d’Elegance on Wikipedia

Thanks Rita!

I really like the old buildings in Kuwait and its very sad to see them crumble. So when I found out about this exhibition by Architect Deema Abdullah Al-Ghunaim I thought it was really interesting since it involved two things I liked, photography and old buildings:

|Tæ’boõq| طابوق
This exhibition is a starting study to trace architectural conceptions in Kuwait through series of screens photographed around Qebla, Merqab, Dasman, Hawalli and Jeleeb Shyoukh. The buildings studied are standing from 1960s as time sensors of placement, displacement and improvisation.

Time
From January 5th to January 7th 2010
January 5th from 7pm till 9pm
January 6th from 9am till 4pm and from 7pm till 9pm
January 7th from 9am till 4pm only

Place
The Sultan Gallery
Sabhan, southern entrance, Sadeer Co., block 8, street 105, building no 168
Telephone: 24714325/26 ext 110
Here is a map [Link]

You can find out more by visiting Deema’s blog where she also has scans of the invitation [Link]

via ProjektCyan