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Sharjah Water Festival Begins

SHARJAH - The spirit of nationalism was in full view as the Sharjah Water Festival 2008 kicked off in Al Majaz Park on Tuesday with children and adults wearing dresses in colours of the national flag and waving small flags enjoyed the activities.

The festival was inaugurated by Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasmi, Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Commerce and Tourism Authority in the presence of Mohammed Ali Al Nounan, Director-General of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism and other dignitaries.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Sultan bin Ahmed said the fact that beginning of this year’s festival coincided with the UAE National Day would give an added boost to tourism in Sharjah.

He highlighted the significance of the mascot of the water festival, ‘Mouj’ which means wave. Mouj was created to instil the importance of water conservation in children, he said.

“Mouj is both an entertaining as well as an educative figure. Children love characters and cartoon images, so we tried to instil the importance of water conservation in kids through Mouj.”

Over a hundred families were seen waving the national flag and enjoying the various activities being held at Majaz Park and the Khalid Lagoon.

This reporter caught up with Rabeea Al Zaabi, an Emirati woman, and her children when they were checking out the stilt walkers who were entertaining the crowd. “Today is an important day and I have made tailor-made clothes in colours of the national flag for my children so that they understand and develop a sense of nationalism and pride in being a UAE national,” said Rabeea.

Abdul Nasser, an Egyptian, said, “It is colourful and entertaining here. I think it is a perfect way to spend the holidays with the family. The good weather and manageable crowd add to the pleasure of being in this place.” The crowd cheered performers of traditional dances and acrobatics. The festival is set to continue till December 13.