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Family Day at Global Village becomes hugely popular Lily B. Libo-on / 10 February 2014 Family Day on Mondays at Global Village with free entry for children below 12 becomes hugely popular among both residents and visitors Artists performing on ice stage at Global Village. -KT photos by M. Sajjad For 12-year-old Mishary from Kuwait, winter holiday is Global Village in Dubai. As cold weather envelops the GCC and Middle East, he knows it is time to shop for his favourite leather, T-shirts and toys, go for wonderful and exciting rides, and taste new delicious cuisine all available at this leading family entertainment and cultural destination. Year after year, his family has made it to Global Village. After all, he has Emirati cousins, who are equally excited to go with them to Dubai’s theme park. Arriving last Monday, the first Family Day in February, Global Village looked altogether different to him. “Wow! More fun rides, and a lot better. I love it,” Mishary exclaims. His parents, Talal Rashid and Khulod, say they are on a five-day holiday. “Global Village is like our second home. We spend our winter holiday here and go back to Kuwait full of memories, fun and surprises. We always find new things every time we come. As soon as we are home, our kids start looking forward to the next edition,” Rashid says. Global Village has become a byword for entertainment not just to residents in the UAE but also to many families from the GCC and other countries across the globe. Throughout February this year, children aged 12 and under get in for free every Monday, which is the “Family Day”. This new family package that costs Dh30 will allow entry to two adults and any number of children under 12. A Qatari family — Mohammed Al Khatani, Noura and their kids — has one more encouraging testimony to tell. A yearly visit to Global Village is to them an overwhelming experience. With excitement, the kids took half of the 50 fun rides on February 3. They watched the mesmerising acrobatic dances of “Level Up”. Just before anyone could stop applauding for an impressive performance, Chinese Unicyclists came on stage with their Bowl Unicycle Act, each of the seven young ladies throwing rice bowls at each other’s head without missing a single bowl, struck them with awe. And, to their amazement, in a separate built-in skating rink beside the World Culture Stage, the ‘Fairytales on Ice’, enabled them to see their favourite “Pinocchio” live. An Omani boy, Zayd Al Bandari, 14, spoke of his enormous love for all the shows and the mouth-watering cuisine he has tasted in various restaurants at Global Village. “I came with my family from Oman. But, they are taking the fun rides and skills games for too long. I feel hungry so I have to come to this restaurant to get my fill. I still get to redeem my Dh10 voucher, which the restaurant gave me after dining with my cousin Achmad in a Turkish restaurant.” As Ahmad Hussein, Executive Director of Operations at Global Village, puts it: “We want to make this February as special as possible for families when they visit Global Village. These promotions are another way of giving something back to our guests and allowing them the chance to experience more here. By letting children aged 12 and below enter for free, on Mondays, parents have the chance to take their kids on more rides and games and get closer as a family.” — lily@khaleejtimes.com Level Up Level Up is a world of video games that come to life to perform German wheels, dance performances, power skipping, roller skating stunts and acrobatics. It takes its young audience directly into a high-tech world of video games that set a pulsating journey as the hero of the show is transported to the virtual world. Maddie, 23, a Hungarian acrobatic dancer, says the team has undergone a very hectic rehearsal for two weeks before performing in Global Village. “Two of us are from Hungary and one from Spain. Our UK-based company is taking the best acrobatic dancers from different countries across the globe to perform at Global Village.” Fantasy Island Fantasy Island, one of the many new attractions, it is attracting huge crowds daily as it is the first of its kind in the Middle East. With more than 50 rides to choose from, families will have a wealth of new and innovative rides and experiences to enjoy for hours at a time. Thrill seekers can ride roller coasters, be terrified by a ghost ride, and then cool off on the log ride. The classic fun fair Dodgems are making a return, along with the highly enjoyable bungee and trampoline stands. Fairy Tales On Ice For the first time, Global Village has brought the imaginative Fairy Tales on Ice to the Middle East. This show is performed live on ice every Family Day with the children’s all Disney favourites in performance such as Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, Aladdin, and Sleeping Beauty. Bilal Mansour, partner of Total Concepts International, which is instrumental in bringing the Fairy Tales on Ice, says that the 10 performers of the Hungarian troupe dress up as  Disney characters from these children’s stories and perform dance routines on the ice to music straight out of the original animated movies. “Tonight, we have Pinocchio, but in the next three Mondays of February, the theatrical production will bring live Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, Aladdin, and Sleeping Beauty.” All Star Dunkers For the first time, visitors can also see five acrobats perform short dance routines between their sets of performing amazing twists and turns in the air in double somersaults. Comprising five guys, the All Star Dunkers from France perform back flips and lots of acrobatics before dunking a basketball. Using trampolines, they perform acro dunk, a spectacular combination of acrobatics and dunking performed for the first time in Global Village and the Middle East. Fred, their coach, says that the team has gone around the world for 17 years to perform acrobatic dunk. “They perform triple rider, which involves jumping, passing and swinging the ball under their  legs and dunk a basketball in the net. They can do double somersault, but they still have to do it with acrobatics and dunking at the same time. It is very difficult to perform as it needs perfect timing and precision of each performer,” he says. Orbis The high-energy Orbis is a magical tour around the world — from Africa through China and Russia into India and South America — then celebrate music and culture from around the world in a fast moving and hugely exciting manner. A children’s show, Orbis will endear the entire family to watch it again and again until Global Village closes on March 1. Chinese Unicyclists Ten Chinese lady unicyclists straight from Beijing juggling while cycling, synchronising their moves with the rest of the performers have mesmerised the crowd at Global Village. They have come to Dubai and the Middle East for the first time. Shi Xin Xue, 16, an acrobat unicyclist, says that it takes two years or more to perfect the most difficult part, which is putting six to seven rice bowls on their foot and toss them one after the other in seconds towards their head and to perfectly balance herself as it lands one by one into a set of  20 rice bowls on her head. The unicyclists have toured most cities in the world to perform, including the USA, the UK, Korea, Japan, Switzerland and most of Europe. Argentinian Gauchos A Guinness World Record holder, the popular “Argentinian  Gauchos” combine their modern dancing with the cultural aspect of the Gauchos, or South American cowboys. Visitors will be  amazed by its highly visual and extraordinary performance that mixes precision, movement and music with “Boleadoras”, a primitive hunting weapon originally used by the Chinese, Eskimos and South American Indians. The Argentinian Gauchos is a two-person act that uses the swinging of Boleadoras, which are small balls fixed to the end of a rope, and tapping them on the floor in quick succession to create a beat to which they dance. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading →