Ramadan Book Fair, in its second edition, organized by the Ministry of Culture at Darb Al-Saai headquarters in the Umm Salal region, continues its events, which attract large numbers of visitors of all ages as the events were not limited on intellectuals or large age groups but it characterized by targeting children and youth as well through various pavilions and events which presented their activities to them, so that the Fair won the admiration of everyone, young and old, who demanded the necessity of its continuity, especially since it is held in an open outdoor arena, which contributed to the influx of visitors to it throughout its stay. Many pavilions offer various activities targeting children and this is a very special thing that enhances the idea of the presence of the whole family and not to focus on adults only or a specific group and these things certainly added a lot to the importance of the event and the audience’s interaction with it greatly while religious publications accounted for a large percentage of the books in the Fair and this is due to the nature of the time in which the Fair is held which is the holy month of Ramadan.
The “Q – Question” event presented by the Theater Affairs Center at
Ramadan Book Fair attracted a large number of children and families, as the two stars, Ali Sultan and Hadia Saeed, participated in posing questions to the audience from the popular Qatari heritage and they received great interaction after memory was activated in addition to addressing subjects that were able to stir the imagination and provide the audience with important information about the lives of the ancients.
For her part, Hadia Saeed expressed her happiness with the children’s interaction during this event, which came as an extension of the success achieved by the “Hadia Saeed’s Stories” event, which she also presented this year at the Fair in cooperation with the artist Monther Thani, explaining that these types of events have a great impact on the souls of children. It makes the audience feel intimacy. At the same time, the artist’s feeling of happiness increases, and he is the one who loves the stage in general for the same reason, as it presents him to people in a live way and she says:
Ramadan Book Fair, with its various activities held in Darb Al-Saai, was able to attract large segments of the public to interact with a number of wide publications after mixing culture and intellect with entertainment.
The writer Abdul-Rahim, the Director of the Theater Affairs Center, confirmed that the Center cares about activities that target families to enhance their presence on the stage and accordingly presents a group of activities that receive a great turnout from the audience of the Fair, through four events, to which this new event was added and he added: The Theater Affairs Center also presents “Stories – Hazawi” event, presented by the artist, Hadia Saeed, they were stories of turath lawal, where she tells in an interesting theatrical style stories from the Qatari heritage in addition to Bunaiat Al-Freej. The director of the Theater Affairs Center indicated that the program included two theatrical performances, the first: Abbas bin Firnas and Time’s Chariot and the second is the surveillance camera in addition to holding a group of Ramadan manufacturing workshops and he explained that all these events start daily from nine o’clock and continue until twelve o’clock in the evening throughout all the days of the Fair.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Culture celebrates “Night of Garangao” today, as part of the activities of
Ramadan Book Fair where the event will be held at 8:00 p.m. on Children Theater Stage where many activities and heritage events will be held that attract children. The Ministry of Culture’s revival of this night comes as part of its objectives to achieve the stated objectives of preserving popular heritage. Garangao is a celebration held by Qatari and Gulf families on the night of the middle of Ramadan, and its name goes back to Qurat Al-Ain in this month. It was said that by the passage of time, the word was converted and became “Garangao” and it’s a metaphor for the children’s knock on doors at this night. Also, it was believed that its origin goes back to the tradition of diving for pearls. Although it is an old traditional custom, Qataris and Gulf nationals are still committed to reviving it, and with the development of time, its celebration has taken on a more modern character, and the celebration has become a habit that government and private institutions are keen to revive. This traditional custom contributes greatly to the consolidation of social relations between children and neighbours. It also gives children confidence in themselves and builds their personality, and acquaints young generations with Qatar’s correct customs and its well-established values that spread a spirit of affection, intimacy and love among members of society and maintain brotherhood, communication, solidarity and kinship.