Doha Festival City (DHFC) is hosting its first International Festival, "offering memorable moments and unique experiences to shoppers".
Running from January 15 until February 28, the International Festival offers a "taste of the multicultural diversity of Doha through a range of exciting events and activities, including art and tech exhibitions, a food festival as well as a number of competitions with major prizes available for shoppers and visitors to enjoy across all age groups", DHFC said in a statement.
The festival kicked off with the International Art Exhibition. In line with the mall’s CSR initiatives, the exclusive exhibition offers the local community and international artists the opportunity to come together under one umbrella and display their arts collections.
The International Art Exhibition is located in the Centre Court on the ground floor of the mall. Guests can explore the exhibition’s artists and their collections daily from 2pm until 10pm throughout the duration of the festival.
Running on the sidelines of the event will be the International Tech Festival, dedicated to shedding light on new technology and brands and also featuring a PC assembly competition. In addition, it will feature a series of panel discussions that will be held in partnership with major tech companies in Qatar.
The International Tech Festival will showcase the myriad of high-tech products available at Doha Festival City, as well as new tech releases and product arrivals at the mall for shoppers to enjoy.
Shoppers can watch all of the tech programmes and panel discussions livestreamed on the mall’s YouTube channel as well as on the screens in Virtuocity.
As part of the International Tech Festival, Doha Festival City will also host a dedicated PC assembly competition on February 13 and 20 at Virtuocity, where four contestants will have to assemble a computer from PC parts provided by Geek Nation at the mall.
The contestant who is the quickest in assembling the computer will win a brand-new PC from Geek Nation.
Winners will be selected based on their skills in cable management and assembly speed in addition to a performance test.
Further, DHFC will host the International Food Festival, showcasing the variety of international cuisines available at the mall. Customers will also have the opportunity to receive a special ‘foodies passport’ after collecting six stamps from any restaurant in the mall, for a chance to win a QR2,000 DHFC gift card.
Winners of the online contest will be announced in the first week of March.
Customers who wish to participate in the food passport contest can collect their 'passport' between February 1 and 28, and can ask all questions regarding the competition at the dedicated International Festival booth located in the Market Node in front of Monoprix, every day from 2pm to 10pm during the activation.
Customers will be able to request from participating restaurants to stamp their passport after every meal. The food passport invites Doha Festival City visitors to undertake a culinary journey through the various F&B outlets at the mall.
A number of lucky customers can also compete for the Super Shopper title on February 7 and 21, with Monoprix and Ikea providing a list of shopping items that the participants must retrieve. The first one to find the items will receive a QR1,000 gift card.
There will also be hidden items on the list that the contestants need to find.
To participate in this challenge, shoppers need to register through Doha Festival City's Instagram page and will be selected via a random software process.
DHFC has been colourfully decorated with flags of participating countries for the International Festival. Retailers at the mall have also decorated their shop fronts with the flags of their original brand country.
DHFC general manager Robert Hall said, “Doha Festival City is delighted to celebrate the rich culture and diversity of Qatar’s community by providing visitors with unique activities and experiences and giving them a taste of the different cultures and traditions that are available at the mall.”
Doha Festival City's opening hours are Saturday to Wednesday, from 10am to 10pm, and Thursday to Friday from 10am to 11pm. In line with the preventive measures set out by the authorities, DHFC has introduced stringent health and safety measures throughout the mall for its staff and visitors.