Dub Fest

It was overcast and breezy in Dubai on Friday, a perfect day to take a walk to the Al Ghurair Center to see what is going on at Dub Fest. After this 8 mile journey, I needed to have a sit down at an outdoor table of All the Perks, to take it all in. The moment I was served my delicious mocha, it actually poured down rain! How exciting—Philippino ladies were excitedly yelling and running indoors—but they missed it! Our 2-3 minutes of a “Dubai Downpour” was something that you could easily enjoy from under a little cover.

Cool graphic from the Dub Fest program, with raindrops.

After all that excitement, I saw a man juggle knives and a chainsaw.

Stickman juggling knives and a chainsaw. 

Then indoors I saw a guy riding a multi-story unicycle, this performance team from Japan is called Witty Look.

The tallest unicycle ever.

Then witnessed a hilarious dance party, led by Spandy Andy. His profile advises of his philosophy: "Appreciate the fact that you are alive and use your energy to spread positivity. AKA Keep it TIGHT & BRIGHT!!"

Spandy Andy, keeping it tight and bright! 

Let me tell you, he had the moves, and for a culture that isn't very athletic, he had the Arab kids dancing. I rode up the escalator with some Indian ladies and we had a birds eye view of the dance floor,  and the dance floor was harmonious. I couldn’t read the nearby ladies reactions, but I could tell this is something they’d never seen before. Heck—I’d never seen anything like Spandy Andy before, he was absolutely charming.

There was an entire week of this, I wish I got to see everyone at Dub Fest. List of all performers here. How wonderful to gently infuse street entertainment, as you would naturally find in many cities around the world. There are no street performers in Dubai; it’s probably illegal. But bringing them in for something like this is probably more effective than having a UNESCO program to facilitate cultural understanding. Those kids dancing their butts off today will remember this weekend. The people watching quietly while the stickman juggled a chainsaw were so awestruck, they couldn’t bring themselves to clap. Being stunned like that is good for people now and then.  I should have expected it to be a mostly family event, but was hoping there would be more arts and crafts for big people. Dub Fest seems like it was actually put together to bring more people to the shops, the marketing worked and I did buy some Birkenstocks at the Al Ghurair Center. They were having a sale, so I got a pair for me and a pair for mum.

After Dub Fest I rode the Metro back towards the Trade Center, but went past my place to the Dubai Mall. I needed to pay my Dubai Electric Water Authority bill and wanted to use the cool machine to do it. So I took cash out of the ATM and paid the other machine for my utilities. There’s always something new for me in Dubai!!!

Paid my electric and water bill by automated machine.