The Bahrain Summer Festival has returned. The one-month long programme kicked off on June 27 with a theme of Our Year of Celebrations. The annual festival features a line-up of live shows and multicultural family-friendly entertainment as well as children's activities and workshops. The festival will take place in the Nakhool Tent in the Sheikh Salman bin Ahmed Al Fateh Fort in Riffa.
For those heading to the festival, they should stop by the Nakhool stage, as the area will feature a variety of live performances. It includes a daily puppet show by Ramadan Yousif, storytelling on Thursdays, traditional folk bands on Fridays and performances from the Bahrain Police Music Band and Mohammed Bin Faris band on Saturdays.
With such an exciting line-up taking place, we pick 10 things to not miss at this year's festival:
Rapunzel
July 11, 7pm to 9pm
Culture Hall
The Missoula Children's Theatre from the US is returning for the third year with a select cast of 50 to 60 children from Manama to act in an original musical adaptation of the timeless tale of Rapunzel. Rehearsals and workshops for cast members are taking place with all that hard work culminating in a charming musical.
Let’s Protect Our Environment
July 11 to 13, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 9-15
The workshop, in collaboration with the National Institution for Human Rights, focuses on raising awareness through activities that highlight the important of everyday practices that can be used to protect the earth.
Lego Sumo Bot
July 11 to 13, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 9-15
Participants can follow the steps of an engineering design process to build the best-designed robot. The workshop will help illustrate the interrelationship between designing, building and programming. Afterwards, the robots will compete against one another to see which will be the last one standing .
Picasso Faces
July 15 to 17, 5.15pm to 8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 9-15
Teens can get expressive as they experiment colours, shapes and patterns to create Picasso faces inspired by the famous artworks of Pablo Picasso.
Tower of Pasta
July 18 to 20, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 6-15
Children and teens can learn more about how skyscrapers are built to withstand wind and other environmental factors. Participants will also learn how engineers work with architects and scientists to understand how to create strong structures.
Pop-up cards
July 15 to 17, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 12-15
Ameen A Qadir will lead the workshop, which teaches participants fun techniques with paper including initial design, sculpting and painting which will result in a final 3D creation.
Mirror Mosaic
July 18 to 20, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 12-15
In collaboration with Meraki Art Space, the workshop will focus on designing mirrors through the art of mosaic by cutting coloured glass, stones and other materials.
Energy
July 18 to 20, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 6-15
Children and teens can learn some quick tips for saving energy and reducing power consumption at home in their daily lives.
Anime Drawing
July 22 to 24, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 12-15
Bahraini artist Abdulrahman Al-Buflasa will teach kids the basics of Anime drawing so they can create their own artistic drawings.
Egg Drop Challenge
July 25 to 27, 5.15pm-6.15pm, 6.30pm-7.30pm, 7.45pm-8.45pm
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 6-11
In collaboration with the ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, the egg drop challenge is about more than just an egg. It also gets participants involved in engineering design, as they will be tasked with designing packaging to protect an egg as it drops from a considerable height without cracking.
Soft Play Area
June 27 to July 27
Nahkool tent
For children aged: 2-4
Don't fret, younger visitors won’t be left out. This area is for the young tots, offering them a place to run freely and be part of the fun. Although, a parent or guardian should still be present at all times.
The Bahrain Summer Festival runs util July 27. Entry is free. For more information, visit bahrainsummer.bh