DOHA: Around 4,000 members of the local community attended Qatar Foundation for Education’ (QF) annual Garangao night festivities at Al Shaqab Equestrian Centre in Doha on Monday.
The evening celebrated youth and the richness of Qatari culture and delighted hundreds of families with community activities, including traditional Arabic games for children, arts and crafts, pony rides and storytelling sessions. Rooted in Gulf culture, Garangao is an annual festival during Ramadan. It began as a daytime festival within tribal communities as a reward and a distraction for children during fasting hours.
In more recent years, it has evolved into a night-time event, where children are provided with sweets, gifts and the chance to participate in team games and other pastimes.
Converted into a souq, the venue treated visitors to storytelling sessions and free henna and face painting.
In a further display of embracing local culture, QF welcomed visitors with traditional Karak and Arabic coffee and Qatari dishes, including haris, luqaimat and jarish.
Garangao cakes, sweets and nuts were also distributed to families.
There were traditional Qatari games for children, including Gaiss (hopscotch), Tagyah (tug-of-war, Dahouri (wheel pushing), plus Gallinah and Natou.
Horse-related activities organised by Al Shaqab in recognition of Qatar’s equestrian heritage added to excitement. They included a mechanical bucking horse and a high-performance equestrian display.
The four-hour event raised QR15,000 for QF member Reach Out To Asia. The charity supports QF’s mission to provide world-class education and nurture development of progressive societies by addressing urgent social needs. The Peninsula
