Living in a small town like Al Ain, you tend to jump at any
and every event that comes up in a bid to entertain oneself. My little family
is a bit pickier as to what we do and choose very cautiously. I like staying home.
My idea of ‘me time’ is staying home all day doing ‘nothing’. But, when an ad for a
Ramadan Souq flashed passed my Facebook page, I was intrigued. During Ramadan
we usually have a bit more down time; sleeping later and staying up longer thus
we were just itching for something fun to do and this sounded perfect.
The Ramadan Souq was hosted by the Jones the Grocer
restaurant that is situated at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium. The restaurant lies
on a short strip of storefronts sporting other gourmet restaurants with the Aloft
Hotel just behind it. The setting is
perfect for a pop-up market and that is what brought me to the Ramadan Souq. I
didn’t know what to expect as the Facebook advertisement simply stated, “The
first pop-up market of its kind in Al Ain.” In the back of my mind though, I was
thinking of outdoor artisan stalls, food stalls, music, and maybe a little fun
for the kids. You know, a little shopping for mom, food and drink for dad and
fun and games for my little guy. On our way to the market we were thinking, ‘I
hope we get parking’. We were looking forward to a lovely evening out.
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| Photo from pexel.com |
As we drove up to the restaurant, we were surprised that it
was so quiet and then we found out that the souq was inside, on the second
flour of the restaurant. I quickly realised that the evening I had imagined in
my head was not to be, but I kept an open mind and headed upstairs with my guys
in tow. As I come up the stairs, I was greeted by lovely smiling faces. About
8-10 vendors were all ready with their passions on display. All the vendors had
good quality merchandise on sale. A few familiar faces welcomed me to their
stand as I’ve seen them before at other events around Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. Among
the vendors I found Siska from South Africa. She and her friends design and
make the most adorable children’s clothing. The dresses and pants suits are so cute, and I was amazed by the quality and workmanship. They have
created S*A*M and work with their husbands, who make kid’s play kabanas and
creative play furniture. Dawn, from Bonnesque, sells beautiful turbans, chokers
and vintage headwear. She also provides photography services: everything from
portraits to events. Other vendors were selling beautiful jewellery with one
vendor selling jewellery from Paris. On the left there were a few vendors
selling designer kids clothing and vendors with decorative pillows, baskets, andlanterns for your home. Verne from VBrown Art had his art works on display and on offer for purchase. Verne is also available for private art lessons for those of us wanting to channel our artsy side. His painting are colourful with a common UAE theme running through it all. These make great gifts for a trip home.
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| Siska from South Africa |
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| Beautiful handmade designer children's clothing |
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| Dawn from England sells gorgeous turbans and provides photography services |
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| A colourful array of home decorations. |
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| Verne from VBrown Art |
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| UAE and African inspired art. |
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Downstairs in the foyer - paper mache painting for the kids.
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Earlier in the day, I had arranged to meet Chelsey of Tiny Bean,
who are the organizers of the event. She herself is from Sydney and remembers
grabbing coffee from her local Jones the Grocer, so she jumped at the chance to
put this event together. She has had success running a few pop-up markets in Abu
Dhabi and Dubai for the past 13 years and talking to her I could tell that this
was a passion not just a job. She mentioned that she opted to have the market
indoors because it was too hot out and wanted her vendors to be comfortable and
she took great pride that most of the vendors were great strong women. This was
her third event for the day and you could sense that she enjoys what she does. I
found her sitting among the vendors and engaging shoppers as they walked passed.
She was surprised that a lot of teachers had visited the souq that evening, I think
she’ll find that teachers are a nation of their own here in Al Ain and that we are
always on the look out for things to do. I’ll be looking out for more events by
Tiny Bean.
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| Chelsey from Tiny Bean |
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| Such passion and drive - talking about the concept behind the Ramadan Souq. |
After my initial disappointment, I walked away with a sense
of ‘This is amazing’. I love giving entrepreneurs, especially women,
opportunities to grow their trade and opportunities for growth and exposure.
This little souq was providing just that. So, even though I didn’t get the
entertainment I was after, I was so glad I went and believe it’s the beginning
of something great. In an environment of uncertainty and having to be creative
about following your passion and being a success, it is a pleasant change to
find an event that focuses on providing a place where we can bring people
together with a common goal. I know there are many more local vendors and it
would be great to see more of them the next time the pop-up market comes to
town.
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| Photo from pexel.com |
It didn’t take long to walk through the market. You could
stay and grab a bite to eat downstairs at the restaurant or grab a quick bite
at a few food trucks around the corner. We opted for the mall for some take-away
for the boys and some fun and games for my little guy. We would return to the
restaurant by the end of the weekend where we enjoyed a lovely dinner. If you’re
looking for something to do this coming Thursday, 7th June, 2018, go
check out the Ramadan Souq and show your support to our local entrepreneurs.
đź’–Always
Leazille
Once again, thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with
you today.
Pictures by Roland Pretorius unless otherwise stated.
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