Hatta Winter Festival greets visitors with an array of exciting activities across 140 workshops

The Hatta Winter Festival, being held as part of the Hatta Winter initiative, has captured the public imagination with 140 workshops showcasing Emirati cultural and artistic traditions to thousands of visitors from across the country and beyond. Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office, has organised the workshops as part of a diverse schedule of activities catering to visitors of varied interests and ages, with most of the activities designed to appeal to the whole family.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the Hatta mountains, the Festival scores high on the fun scale, inspiring visitors to make the most of the pleasant weather and celebrate the effusive community spirit. The number of workshops organised as part of the Festival has recorded a 40% increase from the previous edition’s tally of 100.

Highlighting the diversity of workshops, Mahra Alyouha, a member of the organising committee for the Hatta Winter Festival, said: “Workshops are key components of this year's festival since they allow for a wide variety of interactive activities and greater audience engagement irrespective of the age or interests of visitors.”

She added: “Given the immense interest generated by workshops during the previous edition of the Festival, the organising committee decided to increase their number this year, taking their total up to 140 workshops covering everything from diverse art forms and cultural themes to specialist sessions in honing a wide range of creative skills. Offering abundant opportunities to acquire new skills and foster creativity and skill development, the workshops also highlight unique aspects of the local environment to build conversations around sustainable development practices.”

The Festival has also lined up an array of creative workshops. ‘The Swing House’ is holding workshops for those keen on learning the art of embroidery on tote bags. In collaboration with ‘MOFUN,’ the Festival also features workshops teaching mirror engraving and felting embroidery. Children can learn to design a variety of jewellery boxes, or master wood and mirror painting with Shaikha Obaid from ‘NSSFMA’ holding dedicated sessions. Another workshop by ‘The Embroidery House’ will revolve around techniques and skills for using felting needles.

Alya Lootah and Nora Kalban from ‘Medaf’ will lead painting workshops besides sessions where they will explain how to use seashells and canvas to create distinctive art. Workshops focusing on glass painting, cake decoration, Islamic geometric engravings on metal, wax painting, and fabric bag painting are also part of the mix. Among other sessions, Aisha Johar offers tips on cup painting, while Shaikha Mohammed illustrates embroidery techniques, and Shaikha Al-Maqbali highlights the creative uses of beads.

Inspiring young ones
There are also plenty of activities to keep the little ones interested. Brand Dubai, in collaboration with ‘MOFUN,’ offers specialised workshops for children featuring activities such as tote bag painting, plant pot embellishment, acrylic painting on 3D models, and creating accessories using paracord ropes. Mirror decoration sessions using clay are another highlight.

Additionally, The Swing House is conducting workshops for children on everything from pillow embroidery, clay modelling, mosaic design inspired by Hatta’s landscapes, as well as creative fabric designs on apparel. Jewellery and bead design workshops are also set to keep the little ones hooked. The exhaustive list of activities reflects the Festival's commitment to offering fun, hands-on learning experiences for visitors of all ages, fostering creativity in a beautiful, nature-inspired setting.