the weekend guide
Your guide to the UAE’s best events
It’s that time of the year when school’s out and the sun’s out as well – summer vacation! We’ve got a host of activities and programmes to keep the kids occupied for the next seven weeks and keep boredom at bay. Here’s a summer goal – make FIFA more real than matches on TV screens or PS4 games for the kids. City Football Schools are organising a summer camp for boys and girls from July 12July 26 at Zayed Sports City’s Mubadala Arena. Divided into three weekly sessions that each run from 8.30am-2.20pm, the indoor classes are aimed at kids aged six to 12 years old and will train them on the philosophy and programme of Manchester City Football Club. From Dh950 per week. Call 056 420 5685 or email CFSAbuDhabi@Cityfootball.com. Kids must get their own lunch, training kits (shirt, shorts and socks) cost Dh150.
French-speaking kids can join the Alliance Française Dubai’s multi-activity summer camp. The four-week programmes for children aged five to nine includes educational workshops, trips and discovery of the world, countries and cultures through activities such as baking Russian cakes or dancing to African rhythms. From July 1-26, 9am-3pm. Dh850 for a week and four weeks costs Dh3,200.
Your little divas can act out (for real) and hone their star power at Hayley’s Comet Theatre Company’s drama summer camp. Kids aged six to 14-years-old will develop team skills and learn routines, songs and basics of musical theatre; they will then perform a play for family and friends at the end of the course. The camp will take place at James and Alex Dance Studios in Media City and costs Dh750 per child per week. From 9am-3pm, with the additional option of an After Camp Club from 3pm-6pm for kids of working parents. Email info@hayleyscomet.com to sign up.
Girls can have all the fun at the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA) month-long summer camp. From July 8 to August 2, girls aged five to 15 years old can enjoy swimming, gymnastics, mixed martial arts and more at the Abu Dhabi Ladies Club. The camp will also cover team sports such as football, volleyball and basketball and for those with a creative bent there’ll be dance classes, movie screenings and arts and crafts workshops. The highlight at the camp will be the Master Classes – a series of workshops conducted by local talent, including football coach Houriya Al Taheri, recognised playing a leading part in developing a culture of women’s football in the UAE, and Salma Al Busaeedi, a basketball player who plays in the first national team of Al Nasr Club. From 9am-2pm, Dh1,800 per child. Call 02 679 0299.
Hilton Abu Dhabi’s Summer Camp has activities that exercise the mind and body while have a whole lot of fun – from July 1-August 31 kids aged four to 12 will splash about in aqua gym sessions, sports such as volleyball and football or test their cluecracking skills at treasure hunts. Dh190 per day and Dh850 per week including snacks and lunch. Call 02 6924324.
It’s time for young bookworms in Abu Dhabi to prise their noses out of books and step into their nearest libraries. The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi)’s Around the World Summer Programme from July 1- August 31 will see select libraries conduct readingspecific activities, such as the Summer Reading Challenge that eggs on voracious readers to read 30 books from around the world this summer and weekly events themed after a different culture or country. Kids also get to be on the other side of the return counter thanks to the Young Librarian programme that lets kids aged eight to 14 during a month of seven hour work shifts supporting library staff. Participating libraries will also conduct workshops on robotics, business plans, Emirati etiquette, recycling and languages. Visit library.dctabudhabi.ae.