#OmanPride: Muscat Festival ends on a high note

Muscat: Oman’s largest annual cultural extravaganza came to a close yesterday amidst cheers and fireworks at the festival venues.
A grand car show and a bike fest were organised by the Oman Automobile Association (OAA) over the weekend as part of the festival. Hundreds of people participated with their cars and bikes.
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Arif Al Balushi, who visited the venue, said it was a lovely gathering where he was able to see a number of amazing bikes.
“It was a wonderful gathering as there were many exotic bikes. It was very exciting and I got to meet some fellow bike enthusiasts.I would love to have more such events in Muscat,” he said
The 24-day long festival was held at two prime venues — Al Naseem and Al Amerat parks. However, certain other events were held elsewhere in the town as part of the festival.
Al Amerat Park mostly featured a range of cultural activities, including the popular heritage village that showcased life from the olden days in Oman but also depicted scenes from the lives of fishermen and other rural communities from across the country.
Al Naseem Park hosted entertainment activities where many local and international performances were presented on large stages. It also had a food court where you could dine and relax after walking around.
Electronic rides for children were a key attraction. A new rainforest filled with exotic flora and fauna with plants, flowers, ducks and rabbits, was a major attraction as well. Shopping, as always, was a crowd puller, attracting a large number of visitors everyday.
With rows of vendors selling clothes, accessories, fragrances, spices, household items and food from different parts of the world, it turned out to be one of the most anticipated features of the Muscat Festival. This year, paintball was an added activity and managed to pull a lot of youngsters to the festival.
Naghma, an Indian national who visited the Muscat Festival five times at both the venues, said, “I love the Muscat Festival because the atmosphere is the way things are back home with a lot of people around. You can also enjoy street food here. Since Oman doesn’t have a street food culture, you can’t really enjoy that elsewhere except at the festival. I love the festival. This is my second year in Oman and I can’t wait for the next year.
“My two little school going children and my husband also like the festival because of the rides. I look forward to the Muscat Festival 2018.”