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Art at The Address

This weekend Art Fair 2014 opens its doors to the UAE public, with original painting, prints, sculptures and photography from artists around the world under one roof. It’s a unique opportunity for the local art-buying community to pick and choose affordable artworks from various countries at one venue, while also encouraging the budding art scene in Dubai. Artists and galleries from Japan, India, Singapore, Pakistan and Dubai will be present.

Visitors to the fair will get an opportunity to interact with the artists themselves, and speak with them about their artistic careers and work. There will be live painting by one of the youngest artists in the world — Kanishka Bijeesh — an 18-month-old girl from south India. Her work has been nominated for National Record for being the longest painting ever to be done by a young artist.

Art Fair 2014 will take place at the Diamond Ballroom, The Address Hotel, Dubai Mall on Saturday and Sunday, November 1-2, from 10am to 10pm. For more details visit artfairdubai.com

‘Tis the season to be baking

Nothing brings out the feel of the festive season quite like the sweet scents of vanilla and cinnamon wafting through the kitchen. If you need a helping hand to get all those baked morsels of deliciousness just right, head to Dusit Thani, Abu Dhabi next month and get lessons on Christmas baking courtesy of pastry chef David from Dusit Gourmet.

Chef David will teach you how to bake all kinds of traditional Christmas goodies such as Christmas cake, Stollen and ginger bread cookies. Two-hour classes from 3-5pm on Mondays throughout November cost Dh135 per person and includes afternoon tea at Orchid Lounge.

If baking is not really your thing, the Dusit Gourmet shop in the lobby of the hotel will be open daily from 10am – 10pm, offering a variety of Christmas goodies, cookies, Christmas cakes and desserts to take home.

For reservations, call 02-6988137.

Bike fest

Gulf Bike Week, the ultimate festival for bikes, music and lifestyle, is back this weekend (till November 1) at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. Powered by Discovery Channel, the festival has a host of great new attractions, music stages, celebrities and exhibitors making for fun days out over the weekend. All the latest bikes, gear and accessories will be on display from leading manufacturers including Harley Davidson, Yamaha, Victory, Honda, BMW, KTM and top distributors such as MTM Powersports.

The Live Action Arena will be hosted by Discovery Channel’s Mike Brewer, with appearances by Infernal Varanne Team riders, and there will be two music stages showcasing over 15 bands playing 31 sets of music. Gulf Bike Week will also host the Middle East’s only custom bike competition. There’s also a new Discovery VIP lounge where you can rub shoulders with celebrities. VIP passes start at Dh200. Adult Day Passes are only Dh90 at the gate. Children under 12 enter for free.

Scary, Scary Night

This Halloween, head down to Wild Wadi for a glimpse of the water park’s latest addition — or should we say resident — the Djinn. Apparently, strange security footage and remnants of an abandoned and demolished hotel area, which was built on Djinn’s former village, were found in a closed corner at Wild Wadi and Djinn’s scaring everyone away.

Courageous parents can take their kids trick or treating (free sweets!) and venture into the Halloween-themed section of Wild Wadi — Haunted Heights — if they choose to. The attraction runs every day till November 8, from 1pm to 6pm, with general admission costing Dh295 (over 1.1 m tall) and Dh235 for those under.

Sci-fi 
reality

Remember that awesome scene from Back to the Future Part II? Okay, maybe not, unless you were born in the 80s, of course, and back then all this stuff was cool. If you do remember the movie and Marty McFly’s ingenious little hoverboard, then this should lift you up. A California startup just built a real, working hoverboard! Arx Pax is attempting to crowd fund the Hendo Hoverboard as a proof of concept for its hover engine technology. Backers who contribute to the company’s Kickstarter at the $299 level will receive a complete, working Hendo hover engine and enough hover surface to play around with. Skateboarding just got a dose of the future!

Compiled by Rohit Nair