Abu Dhabi Review

FESTEMBER IS BACK with even more food, fashion, lifestyle and art

FESTEMBER the annual lifestyle, fashion and entertainment event, is back as part of the Abu Dhabi Food Festival, and will take place in the capital’s most prominent and exclusive location, the Waterfront Park – next to Louvre Abu Dhabi - from 5th-9th December.

ADFF, which begins on December 6th, will also be supporting Festember with international food and beverage concepts that will enable the event to continue nurturing new ideas and fostering exciting talent, ensuring the festival is at the forefront of creating unparalleled experiences for visitors.

The multicultural fashion and retail festival was initially conceived and launched by two ambitious young Emiratis, Noora Al Mazrui and Latifa Al Hamed. Today, it has become the leading regional platform to present regional entrepreneurs and emerging brands - and a catalyst for new ideas.

This year’s festival will focus on inflatables, lights and illuminations and you should expect original interactive experiences that invite them to engage with their emotions.

Festember will have 40 new vendors - artisans, craftspeople and innovators - bringing their never-seen-before items to the table, with a strong focus on quality, innovation and design. There will be four broad areas of retail – fashion and jewellery, home and décor, healthy lifestyle and beauty.

Food is an important aspect of the event, with never-before-seen or cutting-edge concepts to the region. (last year we met a coffee artist from New York who was phenomenal - see his work here.)

You will see a couple of GCC-wide international food brands at the festival, but don’t expect anything you’ve seen before.

Food vendors this year include Gastro Garage, (blow-torched gourmet donut sliders from LA); Chick’nCone, (panko chicken in a waffle cone from NYC) and The Barrel BBQ (Southern US-style slow-cooked meat dishes with South African flair).

Mexican Nights is an unmissable pop-up element for foodies, featuring renowned international chef Cristina Mennah Govela, who will offer contemporary healthy approach to traditional Mexican fare.

The celebration of all things ‘south of the border’ continues throughout Festember with Iconbooth’s ‘Viva la Mexico’ installation, a pop-up photo studio by photo artist Marta Lamovsek, where you can don a variety of outfits and costumes exploring the theme ‘We Are All Mexican’.

Other installations include the “Illusinations Tunnel”, playing with innovative and abstract forms, visual structures and interactive lighting, the “Marshall” a real 9.5 feet tall interactive robot, and sports demonstrations.

Head for the Festember stage each evening from 5:30pm to catch a wide and wild variety of acts, including performances from Colombian singer Vera Ciocca, Bahraini singer/songwriter Banah and Virgin Best Artist Award-winner Danny Aridi, the Canadian/Lebanese singer, guitarist and songwriter.

WHEN: 5 – 9 December 2018

WHERE: Waterfront Park, next to Louvre Abu Dhabi

TIME: Daily from 5:00pm until midnight

TICKET PRICE: