Category: Things to do

This is probably going to be the busiest weekend of the season with so many things to do. Firstly if you haven’t registered for the Nuqat Creative Conference, then do so now since it’s free to register and there are lots of interesting lectures taking place. Once you get that done take a look at all the activities taking place this weekend below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Four Hands Can’t Clap
Exhibition: Behind the Crisis
Exhibition: King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture
UK Culture Week: Paper Cinema
Wonderland Charity Carnival
Nuqat Creative Conference
Preview of Constant Caricature – political cartoonist Ali Ferzat
Islamopolitan Exhibition – Kuwait Edition
JAMM Art Gallery
Rooftop Movie: My Dinner with Andre
Movie in the Park: Hidden Pictures

Friday
Wonderland Charity Carnival
Nuqat Creative Conference
Brunch at Lucy’s
UK Culture Week: Gandini Workshop
Kuwait Bibliophiles Book Club Meeting
A Designer’s Dream
Book Signing | Hilmi Al-Tuni
Monitor, Reflect, then Act

Saturday
Wonderland Charity Carnival
Nuqat Creative Conference
Yoga at the Park
Winter Bazaar
A Walkathon for Diabetes
#WECANDOIT INSIDEOUT Pasting & Video Launch
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Rooftop Movie: Wild Tales
UK Culture Week: Gandini

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

This Saturday its packed with events even though there is a storm thats expected to hit. So like last week make sure the events are still on by checking the various instagram accounts before heading to them. Check out the full list of events for this weekend below:

Thursday
Sirdablab: The Big Lebowski
Rooftop Movie: Whiplash CANCELLED

Friday
Let’s Go Forward Road Run Hilton
Qout Market
Team Fortress LAN Party

Saturday
Yoga at the Park
An Introduction to Pointed Pen Calligraphy
K’S PATH Open Shelter Day CANCELLED
Yarn Bombing at The Secret Garden
Protein Sheikhas: Bootcamp
Rooftop Movie: Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Story Time
Let’s Draw – Alshaheed Park

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

A few events got canceled this weekend because of the storm but below is what’s still on as of this post. Battle of the East is taking place on Friday and Saturday so if you’re into competitive sports thats something to check out. Shakshooka is also back for the first time this season, they’re going to be at The Secret Garden this Saturday night. Make sure you double check the actual events instagram pages before you head out just to make sure they’re still on. Below is the full list of events taking place this weekend:

Thursday
Exhibition: Still (Curated by Mark Dean)
Play: Stepping Out
Mask Making Workshop

Friday
Play: Stepping Out
Book Club Meeting
Battle of the East
Kuwait Global Education Fair
Fright Night

Saturday
Battle of the East
Kuwait Global Education Fair
Yoga at the Park
K’S PATH Shelter Open Day
Writing at the Park (Teens)
Shakshooka Market

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

A bunch of interesting events are taking place this weekend. Tonight I’m heading to the Staged in Kuwait Improv Comedy night, I went to it last year and it was hilarious so looking forward to it again. Tomorrow there is an interesting event hosted by the Korean embassy, if you’re looking for a unique cultural experience then it should be worth going to. Finally there is the Fit4Life Expo taking place at Murouj on Friday and Saturday which should also be worth visiting. Check out the full list of events below:

Thursday
Exhibition: Still (Curated by Mark Dean)
Exhibition: Al Maqama
Mix N’ Mentor
Diwaniyya en Español
Staged in Kuwait: Improv Comedy
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo

Friday
Flying Start Triathlon
Time and Space in Harmony – Korean Cultural Performances
Fit4Life Expo
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo

Saturday
The Secret Garden Project
Fit4Life Expo
Outdoor Sports & Safari Expo
Writing at the Park
US Military Band Performance

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Not a very big list this weekend but a few interesting events taking place. Check them out below.

Exhibition: Still (Curated by Mark Dean)
Learn How to Illustrate a Story
Eskenderella Concert
That Comedy Show
K’S PATH Quiz Night
Yoga at the park
The Concert KW
Mommy And Me Market
Saturday Brunch Live
Food Festival

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

Not a very big list of things to do this weekend but there is a decent variety. The biggest thing taking place is the Startup Weekend but the mariachi concert seems interesting as well. Check out the full list below.

Thursday
Startup Weekend
Movie Night: Shahid
Wanderlei Silva Seminar
The Mariachi Romaititlan Concert
Exhibition: SELECT

Friday
Startup Weekend
Book Club Meeting

Saturday
Startup Weekend
Yoga at the Park
Guided Tour: Arab Organization Headquarters
Auditions: Ikara

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events click [Here]

It’s been awhile since I’ve put a things to do list but thats because there wasn’t much taking place over the summer. Now it looks like things are starting to pick up again, it’s still not a big list but it’s a start.

Thursday
KASA 11th Annual Exhibition
Public Speaking: Perfect Pitch

Friday
KASA 11th Annual Exhibition
Bahri Water Sports Event
Staged in Kuwait Welcome Lunch

Saturday
KASA 11th Annual Exhibition
Bahri Water Sports Event
Yoga at the Park
Guided Tour: Grand Mosque
BAIA Carnival
Eat Pray Love

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]

Yesterday I got an email from the owner of a business called Live Sketchbook inviting me to check out her place in Avenues. She described it as a 4D interactive park for kids and although kids stuff never interest me, I was curious to what a 4D interactive park was so I asked her if she had some photos. She emailed me a few and as soon as I saw them I headed over to Avenues to check the place out in person.

Live Sketchbook is a small space located up escalators #20 in Grand Avenues (right next to Muji). It’s a space for kids to come and spend time playing around with one of five different activities they have including:

– A Live Mask station which is a screen you sit in front of and the computer will combine your face with one of an animal of your choice resulting in a creepy/realistic outcome.
– 3D sketching tablets
– A reading corner
– A live mirror in which when you stand in front of will have realistic looking animals walk next to you
– And finally the star of the place, the Live Sketchbook

The Live Sketchbook occupies the majority of the space in the shop and it’s composed of a bunch of touch screens laid out in front of a large wall that has animated illustrations projected onto it. Kids can get on one of the touch screens, open up a coloring book, choose an animal of their choice and then color it in digitally using the onscreen crayons. Once they’re done they can then cut out their animal and flick it up their screen. When they do that their illustrated animal will fly off their screen and onto the animated wall in front of them where their illustration will join the other illustrations on the wall. If that alone wasn’t cool enough the kids can then go up to the wall and interact with their sketch by having it bounce around every time they touch it. I tried it out with a lion I colored in and found it fun so I’m sure kids are going to find it very cool as well.

According to the owner she brought the Live Sketchbook concept from Korea and has the exclusive rights for the brand in the region. I found a video of the Live Sketchbook online which you could check out above to give you a better idea of how it works. They’re going to be soft launching next week and it will cost KD10 for the full day and kids can leave and come back as many times as they want during the day. If you’re interested to find out more, here is a link to their Instagram account [Link]

I just spent the good part of the morning thinking about if I should actually post about this place or not. You see, I have a few well kept secret goodies that I haven’t shared on the blog like this small little Korean place I go to in Mahboula or where I go play tennis (they even have indoors) for just KD5 an hour. Sometimes I don’t post about things because I don’t want them to change, like I don’t want to not be able to play tennis whenever I want to because now they’re suddenly always booked. But, I don’t have that many secret places because most of the time I put the blog ahead of my personal interests. And this is the case with this new yoga studio I passed by yesterday called Alive Yoga.

I’m not a yoga buff but I do go do yoga every now and then, mostly for stretching purposes and to keep me somewhat flexible because I weight lift. My go to yoga place is The Palms since you don’t have to be a member and it costs just KD5 for a class. But yesterday I tried Alive Yoga and I think it’s my new favorite place, not just as favorite yoga place but like in general, my favorite new place in Kuwait. It’s located in a two story villa in Bneid Al Gar and the place is just really well done. The ground floor has a very cozy waiting area and small boutique filled with yoga gear while the top floor has two large yoga studios one of which brings in a lot of beautiful day light.

They have a bunch of yoga instructors and a lot of different classes available through out the day. Some of the classes are mixed while some are for women only. If all this already isn’t enough to sell you on them, Alive Yoga also have a very practical and functional iPhone app which you use to check out what classes are available and for signing up to them. Price wise they’re more expensive than what I usually pay at Palms. A single class is KD12 but if you buy 5 classes it’s KD50. They also have unlimited plans which start at KD95 a month. That means if you do yoga three times a week it’s like you’re paying KD7.9 a class or if you do 6 classes a week it’s basically KD3.9 a class. Right now though they have a new members offer where they are offering 2 weeks unlimited classes for just KD24. Thats what I signed up to and I’m going to make sure I take advantage of it by trying as many different instructors and classes as I can in this period. If you’re interested to find out more about Alive Yoga then make sure you check out their instagram page [Here]. Also, here is their location on [Google Maps]

Update: Here is the link to their website [Link]

A new ice skating rink opened up inside the Promenade mall in Hawalli and I think it’s the only other ice skating rink in Kuwait not including the main one in Kuwait City. I passed by yesterday to check it out and it turned out to be bigger than I expected it to be but A LOT smaller than the Kuwait City one. One hour of ice skating costs KD6 and that includes the ice skates and a helmet. It’s not just for kids, it’s for ages 7 and up so adults can skate there as well. The same floor has the trampoline park (which I think is just for kids) and yesterday when I passed by during the day it was super packed. Kids must be loving it. Anyway if you’re interested in ice skating I’d personally recommend the ice skating rink in Kuwait City but if you want to check this out you can call them on 22277138. Here is the location of the mall on [Google Maps]

Lots of people travel to Lebanon during Eid because its so close, so this year I decided to ask two friends of mine to put together their recommendations on what to do and where to go. My friends also happen to have the two most popular blogs in Lebanon, Najib runs BlogBaladi.com while Gino runs Ginosblog.com. First up is Najib’s recommendations, check them out below and then make sure you check out his blog [Here]

La Creperie Jounieh
For those of you who don’t know La Creperie yet, it’s is one of Lebanon’s most authentic and beautiful restaurants and has been serving great food since 1968. The restaurant was recently renovated and relaunched and is originally an 18th century picturesque Ottoman house that offers a breathtaking view across the Jounieh Bay. An ideal place for a late afternoon meal, sunset drinks or a Sunday family lunch. [Link]

Garden State
One of the hottest outdoor venues this summer in Beirut holding a different theme on a daily basis. Thursday is the busiest with pop music from the 80s and 90s, Sundays are chill out Apero Electro with live cooking. Wednesday is a dog-friendly day where everyone can bring his dog. [Link]

Colonel Beer
A local microbrewery and restaurant located in the heart of Batroun. Colonel Beer is only few meters away from the beach and you can enjoy BBQs, freshly brewed beer, local artists and a great atmosphere. [Link]

Burgers at Smoking Bun
The best street burger in Beirut. [Link]

Helado Ice Cream
My favorite icecream shop in Lebanon. The flavors are quite original and delicious. There’s Baileys, Whiskey, Green Apple, Fig, Lotus, Oreo and others. Make sure you drop by on your way back from the beach. [Link]

Taanayel Ecolodge
A traditional village located in the heart of the Bekaa. A great place to walk around and enjoy nature, have great food at Al Khan Al Makssoud and have fun with the various outdoor activities. [Link]

Karting at RPM
RPM (Racing Park Mtein) is the newest and hottest karting circuit in Lebanon. It’s a long drive from Beirut (1 hour or more) but it’s totally worth it and there’s a lot of sightseeing to do on the way to Mtein. [Link]

Mir Amin Palace
The Chouf is one of the best-preserved and most beautiful areas in Lebanon. It boasts the biggest Cedars forest in Lebanon, historical palaces built by the Emirs of Lebanon (most notably the magnificent Beiteddine palace), as well as beautiful old Lebanese houses, monasteries and attractions. It’s the perfect getaway from the city. The Mir Amin Palace Hotel is the ideal place to stay when you’re planning a weekend in the Chouf. [Link]

Pinea Campus
A gorgeous campsite surrounded by a large stone pines forest and located in Haitoura area in Jezzine (South Lebanon). It’s a great spot for camping, enjoying outdoor activities like ATVing, Skeet/Trap shooting (Tiro), mountain biking, horseback riding and Hiking and chill grills on Sunday. [Link]

Chez Sami’s Seafood Restaurant
Check out Chez Sami’s new terrace (Chez Sami Le Deck) and enjoy a splendid view while having the most delicious seafood. [Link]

Winner: The Secret Garden
A common refrain you hear from people here, expats and locals alike (no fighting, children), is that “there’s nothing to do here.”

Common Mack! Sure there is!

Why, you could perhaps go to the airport and GTFO AND GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM! Or you know…take a vacation. I personally love Kuwait’s locale. You could literally go anywhere from here. Go somewhere new! Try the local food! And in general, you could be less of a bitch. We have more holidays a year than anyone and centrality to use it to experience something new.

But what do you do when you’re between vacations?

The Secret Garden Project.
The instagram account @mimikuwait is how I found out about these entertaining events. She’s a force of good, tenacious and talented. The project hosts weekly events a few times a year during the cooler months when people stop bitching about how hot or dusty it is, and start bitching about how cold and dusty it is during those few minutes between being inside a severely over-air conditioned building and a severely over-air conditioned car. The mini-market is located at a tiny park off Baghdad street. Lots of good food, like the gentlemen who re-karaked chai karak and the merchant prince of smoked ribs, Roc. It’s a swell place to take your spouse or the girl who somehow responded positively to you yelling at her from you car (please don’t have children). It’s also a good place place to bring the kiddies for some fun activities that don’t require them rubbing their disgusting fingers all over the phone you put next to your face 20 times a day. It’s the kind of place women walk around repeatedly saying the word ‘cute’ incessantly. kinda like…

Runner up: Qout Market
For personal reasons, I couldn’t make most of the early Qout Markets this year (I had nothing to wear). But the ones I visited had the same elements it did last year: great atmosphere, great food, and lots of random small stands selling everything from jams to t-shirts. My only reservation is how people going to Qout overdress. Last time I felt compelled, as I often do, to make a statement by overdressing just. that. little. bit. more. Some of you may have seen me in the final Qout Market of the year.

Photo by Hind Al-Awadi

The gauntlet has been thrown ladies and gentlemen, do you accept the challenge?

Winner: The Secret Garden
During the cooler seasons if you ever want to know where to find me on a Saturday morning, it’s usually at The Secret Garden. The Secret Garden is a small park right off Baghdad Street in Salmiya that was turned into a community garden by the talented chef Mimi. Every so often she invites a bunch of other talented chefs and together they hold a brunch or dinner at the park. It’s a very chill atmosphere with picnic tables spread all about, good music playing and a lot of interesting people all around. It’s a great social event and a great way to spend Saturday mornings. If you haven’t been to a brunch or dinner yet at the park then make sure you do, whenever there is one taking place I tend to post it with the “Things to do this Weekend” list so keep an eye out for it or just follow Mimi [Here]

Runner up: Madeenah Tour
The Madeenah Tour is another activity that takes place during the cooler months of the year since it usually involves a lot of out door walking. Once a week Madeenah takes a group of people on an educational and informative tour around a specific area with historical or current significance. They tend to stay off the beaten path so you’re always bound to discover something new. Like with The Secret Garden, whenever there is a tour taking place I list it under the weekly weekend activities list but you could also follow them yourself and find out directly from [Here]

Winner: Kuwait Little League
When I first moved back here, 20 seasons of The Simpsons ago, someone recommended to my mother that she put us in the Kuwait Little League. Back then, everything was on sandlots. But the movie, The Sandlot, had come out the year before and therefore, I was unfazed. The league, to my ten-year-old perception, was very well organized. We had organised teams with practice and jerseys and coaches and the whole thing. I loved every minute of it and can’t thank enough the school nurse for suggesting it to my mother.

I was reminiscing out loud with Mark and the KLL came up. He showed me pictures of the fields they use now, which somehow, despite the sun’s continually murderous efforts, were green. Perhaps they’re artificial grass, I don’t know, but nonetheless, it’s all very Chenna mo bel Kuwait. Look them up for online registrations if you want to give your kids something outdoors to do in the delightful months of the year.

Runner Up: Kidzania
The winner was something I had done as a child in Kuwait that is still around and even better that before; The runner-up is something so enticing, that I rue the day I grew into a towering oak of a man. Kidzania is off at the edge of the Avenues. You might have had to double-take as I had when you see a goddamn Qatar Airways desk inexplicably in a mall. Well that’s where the kids take their pretend passport, to check into Kidzania. I have a real goddamn passport and I’m gold member with Qatar Airways, but sadly, I’m too tall for this ride…

Winner: Kuwait Little League
I passed by the Kuwait Little Leagues a few months back by accident. Well not really by accident, I was going to a yard sale and I knew it was a KLL Yard Sale, I just didn’t think they would be actually playing baseball games as well. So when I got there I was in total shock and awe. They had 4 green grass diamond baseball fields (real grass btw) and there were all these kids dressed in baseball gear on the fields playing while their parents were sitting in the stands watching. The fields were surrounded by high green trees and the sky was blue so you literally felt like you were at some school game taking place in the US. Unlike Nima, I spent my childhood playing football in sand lots but if I had know about KLL I would have begged my parents to sign me up to it. If you want to know more about KLL they do have a website but it looks like it was designed back in the 1800s and doesn’t seem to be functioning properly as of this post [Link]. They’re also on [Facebook]

Runner up: K Camp & Q8 Books
It was difficult to choose one runner up so I’m choosing two. Last year I passed by K Camp for the first time since I had a friend working there and was overwhelmed by how much fun the kids were having. The kids were split up into various teams based on their ages and numbers and through out the day they would all have different activities to do. What probably surprised me the most is how great the various young volunteers were with the children, many of who were previous K Campers themselves. Sadly this activity takes place only a few weeks a year, check out their website for more details [Here]

The other runner up is Q8 Books, through out the year they have various reading events for children where they invite guests to come and read for the kids. They even somehow convinced Monstariam to come read wearing a rabbit costume. It’s all really cute and it takes place inside the bookshop so your kids will probably also want to pick up a few books on their way out which is always a good thing. Follow them on instagram to find out when the next one takes place [Link]

This weekend, specifically Saturday is just insane with a ton of interesting events taking place. Probably the most oddest thing however is the K-Pop World Festival thats taking place in Mishref. That’s definitely something worth checking out. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
Study for a Domiciled Gallery
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo
Health Informatics

Friday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo

Saturday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sukar Ramadan Sweets Expo
Yoga for K’SPATH
Concert: Taksim Trio
Ride With Us
It’s Story Time
K-Pop World Festival
Reddit Meetup

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]

Update: The K-Pop World Festival venue has changed, the event is now taking place at the Korean Embassy

I expected this weekend to be quiet but looks like there are a few cool events taking place. Check out the full list below:

Thursday
Distorted Realities: A Group Show
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Sirdab Movie Night: Interstellar
Opera Benefit Concert

Friday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Grow Your Own Food

Saturday
Family Exhibition
Ramadan Food Exhibition
Yoga for K’SPATH
Organic Sounds – Tribute to Nepal Concert

If you’d like to share an event on the blog [Email Me]
For a full list of upcoming events for the month click [Here]