AHSA, 25 July 2006 — One of the greatest ever summer festivals to be held in the Eastern Province has been extended till July 30 following an unprecedented response from the general public in and around Ahsa.
Ahsa Municipality organized a summer festival titled Hasana Fulla, which was supposed to end last Sunday but with the approval of Ahsa Governor Prince Bader ibn Mohammad and Eastern Province Govern or Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, the festival has been extended seven days and will now end on July 30.
The festival is being held behind the municipal office. Among its main attractions is a heritage village containing antiques and other artifacts and also a place where visitors can sample traditional Arabic coffee and delicatessen. A special corner dedicated to traditional handicrafts has also proven to be popular.
Among the festival’s highlights is a group of Canadian acrobats who performed various feats including a high jumping stunt, a 30-meter dive and an immensely popular stunt involving a man setting himself on fire and then remaining still for half a minute after which he skillfully jumps into a small pool of water.
Fahd ibn Mohammad Al-Jubair, the president of Ahsa Municipality and director of the festival, opened the event a few weeks ago in a ceremony that was also attended by Abdullah Al-Arfaj, the festival’s secretary- general.
The festival has also included musical performances by the “Amwaj Bahrain” band, whose lead singer is Mohammad Hajer and another band called “Layale Hajer,” whose lead singer is Ibrahim Al-Farej.
For the amusement of children the festival has organized various plays that are being held in the municipality office. Visitors were also entertained by car performances performed by “The Baranji Squad,” which is headed by Majid Al-Juraobee.
Organizers say the festival has proved extremely popular and attracted a lot of domestic tourists and day-trippers to the area.
Sulaiman Abdulrahman Al-Hamad, the president of the Ahsa Chamber of Commerce, toured the festival along with the chamber’s Secretary-General Adel Al-Saleh.
Other people that participated in the festival were Ahmad Alnooh and members of the cultural committee, which included Yousef Al-Ruaished. The committee also held a creative-writing competition entitled “The Best About Palm Trees.”
The shopping sector of the festival was opened under the guidance of Adel Al-Milhim, vice president of Ahsa Municipality.
