ALL EYES ON MILITARY SHOW
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, attended the Hosn Al Ittihad (Union Fortress), a live public military demonstration by members of the UAE Armed Forces, at Abu Dhabi Corniche on Thursday. Lieutenant-General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, other sheikhs and top military commanders were present at the show. —
sharjah — The theme of ‘seven’ takes centre stage at this year’s annual Pink Caravan Ride, the seventh since its inception in 2011.
Running from March 7-17, the latest edition of the event is being hosted under the tagline ‘Seven Years... for Seven Emirates’ and features seven ‘pink’ events dedicated to enhancing awareness about breast cancer and the importance of its early detection.
“Each year, we aspire to introduce new and attractive activities in order to increase community interaction with the initiative. Our strategy is to encourage the public to respond to the calls made by our medical teams to undergo important medical check-ups and screenings for the early detection of breast cancer, with these examinations provided for free by mobile and fixed medical clinics throughout the country,” said Nada Askar, head of Pink Caravan’s events committee.
The first of the Pink Caravan Ride’s seven ‘pink’ activities is its opening ceremony, which takes place on March 7 at the Sharjah Equestrian and Racing Club. The launch event marks the commencement of the ride’s 10-day journey across the seven emirates, which will see it offering free clinical breast examinations to all segments of the UAE community and raising awareness about the important of early detection of the disease.
The second of the events is the Pink Caravan Children’s Ride, which takes place on March 10. For the first time in the Pink Caravan Ride’s history, young advocates of breast cancer awareness will gather with their horses to travel over a 7km route, accompanied by riders from the Dubai Riding for the Disabled institute who will undertake a 1.5km ride. The Children’s Ride will feature a range of entertainment activities, including a bouncy castle, face-painting, a photo wall, a petting zoo, and other attractions to keep youngsters fully entertained.
On day five of the Pink Caravan Ride, women will be treated to a special ‘Pink Yoga’ evening event, the third of the ride’s special seven activities for 2017. Organised in cooperation with the Dubai Ladies Club and taking place at the organisation’s beach front location, the session will encompass deep breathing and relaxation exercises against an ocean and sunset backdrop.
The Khalid Lagoon Corniche in Sharjah is the venue for the sporting activity ‘Pink Strides - SHJ,’ which will take place on March 12. Involving participants undertaking a 7km journey on foot, Pink Strides aims to promote women’s physical fitness and encourage them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Complementing the event will be a boat parade that has been organised by Sharjah International Marine Sports Club.
The fifth of Pink Caravan’s seven activities for 2017 is ‘Pink Bite,’ which continues its success from last year’s event which raised Dh51,000. This year, 7 renowned Pink Caravan ambassadors will team up with seven prominent local and international chefs in a cook-off to host a special culinary showcase during which they will prepare pink-coloured Emirati ingredients dishes. Taking place on March 14 in collaboration with Galeries Lafayette, Le Gourmet The Dubai Mall, the event will create gourmet meals that will be sold during a charity auction to raise funds for the Pink Caravan.
The penultimate event in Pink Caravan’s special agenda for 2017 has been designed to please lovers of nautical activities, the ‘Pink Regatta’ enables boat owners to join the Pink Caravan and set sail in support of the Pink Caravan’s mission. The Pink Regatta will take place on March 15 at Palm Island in Dubai in collaboration with “Nakheel Properties”.
Finally, the Pink Caravan’s closing ceremony in Abu Dhabi on March 17 will see the conclusion of its special programme for 2017. The ‘Pink Strides - AD’ event will see people of all ages joining in a 7km walk around the premises of Zayed Sports City.