2:48AM - Entertaining Kuwait since 2003

Below are all the events I found taking place this holiday weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday, Feb 23
Traditional Music at Al Shaheed Park
Hala February Expo
Mersaf Market
Souq Al Sahel Beach Market
The Avenues Sky: Kuwait Edition
National Day at Boulevard
Heart of Kuwait Celebrations
Al-Farsi Kite Festival
National Day at the Scientific Center
National Day on Failaka Island
Pro Truck Expo
Interactive Art at Wejha
World Record Attempt – Largest Macron Display
COMFEST 2023

Friday, Feb 24
Colored Parade at Al Shaheed Park
Hala February Expo
Mersaf Market
Souq Al Sahel Beach Market
The Avenues Sky: Kuwait Edition
National Day at Boulevard
Heart of Kuwait Celebrations
Al-Farsi Kite Festival
National Day at the Scientific Center
National Day on Failaka Island
Pro Truck Expo
965 Superbike Championship
COMFEST 2023
Fridges Of Kuwait Food Drive

Saturday, Feb 25
Hala February Expo
Mersaf Market
Souq Al Sahel Beach Market
The Avenues Sky: Kuwait Edition
National Day at Boulevard
Heart of Kuwait Celebrations
Al-Farsi Kite Festival
National Day at the Scientific Center
National Day on Failaka Island
Pro Truck Expo
COMFEST 2023
Traditional Show in the Desert
Radical Cup – Kuwait

Sunday, Feb 26
Hala February Expo
Mersaf Market
Souq Al Sahel Beach Market
The Avenues Sky: Kuwait Edition
National Day at Boulevard
Heart of Kuwait Celebrations
Al-Farsi Kite Festival
Live Samra in the Desert
National Day at the Scientific Center
National Day on Failaka Island
Healing Circle

Monday, Feb 27
Hala February Expo
National Day Fiesta 2
Souq Al Sahel Beach Market
Heart of Kuwait Celebrations
Al-Farsi Kite Festival
National Day at the Scientific Center

Note: Photo is from a 1977 National Day Parade

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Ambush
Blueback (5.8)
Marlowe (5.8)
Missing (7.3)
Mummies (6.2)
On the Line (5.4)
Transfusion (5.1)

Other Movies Showing:
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (6.7)
Avatar: The Way of Water (7.8)
Ghoster (3.9)
Plane (6.9)
Sound of Silence (5.7)
Titanic: 25th Anniversary (7.9)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (4.7)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Beauty and the Beast – 1991 (8.0)
Cinderella – 1950 (7.3)
The Lion King – 1994 (8.5)
The Sound of Music – 1965 (8.1)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

The most popular farmers market in Lebanon Souk El Tayeb is coming to Kuwait from March 16 to 18 and will be held at Al Shaheed Park. Not only that but they’re also bringing their award-winning restaurant, Tawlet which recently ranked #19 MENA’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Tawlet is their farmers’ kitchen where cooks from around Lebanon come and tell their stories and traditions through authentic home cooking. It was one of the spots Anthony Bourdain visited on his show and described it as a “sort of utopian showcase” for the artisans at Souk El Tayeb.

Up to 30 small families will be flying from Lebanon to Kuwait to take part in this and up to 30 small local businesses will also be taking part.

More information will be posted closer to the event but for now you can follow the organizer’s account @leanstart.kwt

The Yarmouk Cultural Centre will be screening the short film “One Small Visit” tonight at 7PM.

The true story of an immigrant Indian family who unexpectedly passes through the tiny Ohio hometown of Neil Armstrong in the wake of the ’69 moon landing and the civil rights movement and ends up on the Armstrong’s doorstep.

The film is based on a true story and one of the family members on which the film was based will be at the screening for a Q&A.

Based on the trailer the film looks like it would be fun to watch and entry is free. This is the first showing in the Middle East, for more info on the screening, click here.

If you’re looking for something fun and different to do this coming holiday weekend, drive down to Riyadh for the Paul vs Fury fight. Jake Paul, the popular YouTuber turned boxer is fighting Tommy Fury, the brother of two-time heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson Fury. The event is on February 26th and ticket prices start at just 15KD.

Riyadh is just 6 hours away by car and there are plenty of things to do there. If you want fight tickets, click here.

Back in 1977, Andy Warhol came to Kuwait under the invitation of the National Council of Arts, Culture, and Letters, and his work was exhibited at the Dhaiat Abdullah Al Salem Gallery. Fred Hughes, his manager, accompanied him from the States, along with James Mayor of the Mayor Gallery in London.

Andy always carried his camera everywhere he went and while he was in Kuwait he took a lot of photos. Thanks to @5892484, I was recently made aware that all the photos he took on his trip are available online at the Standford Libraries Andy Warhol Photography Archive.

While researching for this post I also found this interesting tidbit from James Mayor about their trip to Kuwait:

I had a girlfriend who was on the board of the Arts Council of Kuwait who had offered to hold an exhibition of any artist of my choice. I suggested maybe Andy Warhol and she jumped at the chance, as did Andy who gave up his invitation to President Carter’s inauguration at the White House to do it. I remember during the lay-over at Frankfurt airport on our way to Kuwait having what I thought would be my last drink for a week or so (boy, how wrong I was!); we were met off the plane by a tomato soup coloured Rolls and ushered away to non-stop parties. At the first dinner we were welcomed by the largest drinks trolley I have ever seen and after dinner the white-gloved English butler offered us all ready-rolled joints on a silver salver. At another lunch a sheik came up to me and said ‘You have brought me Andy, now bring me Salvador!’ Sadly no commissions materialised but I did manage to sell one Marilyn portfolio and a couple of sets of Soup Cans. source

Click here to see all the photos from that trip.

Standup comedian Maz Jobrani who was part of the popular “Axis of Evil” comedy group is coming back to Kuwait next month to perform at AUK. Maz last performed in Kuwait back in 2019 in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,700+ people.

There will be two shows taking place on March 7th and tickets start at KD20 for balcony seats and go all the way up to KD65 for the front rows.

Local comedian Zahra Al Mahdi will be opening up for Maz. For more information and to get tickets click here.

Below are all the events I found taking place this weekend. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments:

Thursday, Feb 16
Hala Kuwait
The Urban Market
Bugsha Market
The Promenade Family Fun
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Palestinian Heritage Exhibition
Quantum Con
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition
Kuwait Riders Bike Show

Friday, Feb 17
Kites Watching in Bnaider
Community Run at Shaheed Park
Hala Kuwait
Spiritual Healing Kashta
Inspire Car Show
The Urban Market
Bugsha Market
Trashtag Beach Cleanup
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Yard & Toyota at KMT
Quantum Con
Sanad Market
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition
965 MX Junior Championship
Kuwait Riders Bike Show

Saturday, Feb 18
Hala Kuwait
Ford Desert Challenge 2023
Treasure Hunt at Shaheed Park
Inspire Car Show
The Urban Market
Bugsha Market
Celebrate Kuwait Painting Event
Painting & Coffee
Scientific Center Weekend Activities
Yard & Toyota at KMT
Quantum Con
Sanad Market
SpeakUp Kuwait
Atyab Almarshoud’s Show Jumping Competition
Art Scene V: Freedom in Freestyle
Qout Market at JACC

Sunday, Feb 19
Hala Kuwait
Kayaking for Ladies
Gardening Workshop
Mommy, Me and a Pony Day!
Scientific Center Weekend Activities

Exhibitions
Ala Taraf Lisan Al Ard
Life Forms & Indigo Expressions
Speculative Horizons

Activities
Albohayra Farm
Ascend Rock Climbing
Indoor Karting
Little Jungle
Murouj Farm
Movement Classes at Omni Studio
Roller Blade at Roller Hub
Yoga at Darātma

Museums to Visit
Abdullah Salem Cultural Center (ASCC)
Amricani Cultural Center Museum
Bait Al Othman Museum

The movies below are now showing at Cinescape, Grand Cinemas and VOX:

New This Weekend:
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (6.7)
She Is Love (6.4)
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey (4.7)

Other Movies Showing:
Avatar: The Way of Water (7.8)
Bandit (6.4)
Ghoster (3.9)
M3GAN (6.1)
Plane (6.9)
Sound of Silence (5.7)
The Amazing Maurice (6.4)
Titanic: 25th Anniversary (7.9)

The classic films below are currently showing at the 1954 Film House:
Beauty and the Beast (8.0)
The Lion King (8.5)

The numbers in brackets refer to the IMDB rating at the time of publishing.

If you’re a customer of the main Sultan Center in Salmiya you might have noticed how the upstairs area was pretty dead. Xcite and Intersport opened there a few years ago but the homeware section was pretty poor, like they stopped caring about it.

Well yesterday I found out that True Value has now taken over that department so I decided to check it out. Basically the whole top floor of Sultan Center Salmiya is divided between Xcite, Intersports, Dawa Pharmacy and True Value. True Value takes up majority of the space and covers all the homeware items with a very tiny hardware section.

It’s a pretty good idea and great for shoppers, but mostly because they’ve restocked the area and its packed with stuff now instead of it looking abandoned.

Yesterday I was given a tour of the new Kuwait T2 airport terminal, which is a candidate to get a LEED green building certificate. LEED is a certificate that is awarded to buildings whose construction and design incorporate sustainability methods.

I was first given a tour of the outside of the terminal before making our way inside. Usually, the renderings look better than the final result but I think in this case, it’s the other way around. I don’t think the renderings do the building material and color justice, it’s much more impressive in person. Also, seeing the multiple arches from various angles and noticing how they layer in some areas creates a visually stunning experience that you need to see in person to appreciate.

The airport is huge and not just when compared to our existing airports, it’s proper international standard airport huge. From what I could tell the airport structure had been completed and the majority of the work I saw taking place was at the aircraft gates, the parking lot area, and the large bridge that will take the cars up to the arrival area. I wasn’t given a completion date but according to previous articles published, the deadline for completion is later this year.

One thing that caught my attention while walking around the construction site was how clean it was. That’s part of the requirements in the construction phase when you’re aiming for a LEED certificate, they have a dedicated crew whose job is to go around the site cleaning it up and recycling as much of the waste possible. Right now 86% of the collected waste is recycled which is extremely impressive. Obtaining a LEED certificate involves more than just recycling waste. For example, they sealed off AC ducts during construction to prevent dust from entering and compromising air quality once the airport is operational. We won’t even get a “new paint smell” when the airport opens because they’re controlling the kind of chemicals used inside the paint. It’s a legit operation.

After walking around the airport yesterday and imagining how it’s going to look once it’s completed, I can’t wait for it to open up. It’s the airport we’ve always wanted, I just hope by then we get Smart Gates for passport control.

Don’t forget to get your loved one a Shani today. shaniday.com

The Palestinian Culture Center has been operating in Kuwait since the early 1970s. Every year they hold an exhibition with the aim to keep this vibrant culture alive and support underprivileged women and children in the camps.

This year the heritage exhibition will mark the launch of Palestinian Cultural Week. Starting today till Thursday, the Palestinian Culture Center will be holding its exhibition at the Women’s Cultural & Social Society in Khaldiya from 10AM to 8PM.

The exhibition will have hand-stitched dresses, shawls, and cushions for sale, as well as handmade ceramics, books, and food aimed to preserve the Palestinian national identity and showcase how it adapts to modern times.

Below is the schedule of the rest of the events this week:

For more info check out @palestiniancc

Sam Chui, one of the most popular aviation and travel vloggers in the world was invited to Kuwait by Kuwait Airways recently. That was a couple of weeks ago when the airline made a number of announcements including the revealing of the new flight attendant uniforms. His video of the trip just went up and there really isn’t anything revealing or controversial.

But I did find one thing odd, Sam was getting a tour of the Kuwait Airways headquarters and the CEO mentioned that the building was inspired by the stealth bomber. I thought that was an odd design decision for a civilian airline headquarters.

Over the weekend Forbes Middle East revealed their annual list of 100 Middle East’s Most Powerful Businesswomen and 8 from Kuwait made it this year. The U.A.E. and Egypt scored the most entries at 15 and 12, followed by 11 from Saudi Arabia and then Kuwait.

Check out Kuwait’s top 8 below: