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Chalking their way to glory

Amna Ahmed, member of the Arts Surprises Organising Committee, Department of Naturalisation and Residency in Dubai, said, "This workshop is to expose children to an old art. Drawing with chalk on a blackboard gives a totally different feel to the image, and the art form itself is comparable to specialised ones like pencil or charcoal sketching. We are seeing a good turnout at this zone, and the facilities are all designed with children in mind."

The Drawing with Chalk workshop is mainly for children, but adults can participate too, as long as children accompany them.

There will be chalk of various colours provided, and blackboards of 1mx1m. The boards are on stands that are not too high above the ground, so that children can use them easily. Every day, over 150 children participate in this section, with the number going up during weekends. Even though this is an area where children can just participate and not compete, there are prizes for participants, given by the Organising Committee of the Arts Surprises week. Dubai Summer Surprises 2003 now progresses with Arts Surprises, to be followed by Heritage Surprises, Adventure Surprises, and Back-to-School Surprises.

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