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Farmers Market fanatics are in for a treat this Saturday as Bahrain Noor El Ain is turning the community park into a fun-filled bazaar for families to enjoy.
The two-month long nationwide festival – which means ‘Bahrain, the light of our eyes’ – has grown in popularity, particularly for its rotating market initiative.
According to one event representative, there has been a huge turnout at each bazaar, notably the Adliya Tasting Tours and the organisers expect the same for the Farmers Market.
May Al Khalifa, a representative of the Bahrain Noor El Ain Festival Bazaar’s organising committee, said: “This is a major event that shows the very best of Bahrain, with local talent and products on display at different markets rotating across the kingdom during the winter months.
“Malls and shops offer customers special promotions, amazing deals and exciting raffles and prizes. The reception of Bahrain Noor El Ain has been great and we have active participation on our social media sites.
“For the Farmers Market Bazaar, we aim to increase the visitors’ awareness of what the kingdom has to offer by staging activities such as cooking demonstrations, including chefs and nutritionists, tree planting and so on.
“We have been collaborating very closely with the Farmers Market and we also hope to educate residents about locally-grown produce, obtaining a healthier lifestyle as well as giving families a chance to have some fun.”
The event will run from 8am until 5pm and will feature a variety of activities. The Farmers Kitchen kicks off at 8.30am with Chef Abbas Ebrahim from the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain, Hotel & Spa.
Nutritionist Mohammed Al Saad will share his wisdom at 9.50am, followed by another demonstration by Chef Mark James Dickey of The Organic Café. The kitchen will feature a number of chefs, nutritionists and even a fitness instructor until 1pm.
Throughout the day, there will be a Stone Story Wall which is a dedicated structure created around the lake allowing children to write and paint or draw messages on pebbles and stones. The children can either leave the pebbles as mementos on the structure or take them home.
Art walls have also been set up around the garden for the entire family to feel free to paint.
Organisers have also devoted an area in the botanical garden for children to learn about planting and nature. Potted plants with a sapling will be given as gifts for children to take home to nurture and grow.
Children will love the petting area Animal Kingdom, where they can get up close and personal with the livestock as well as a chance to talk to experts on how to interact with them and care for them. The petting zoo aims to teach youngsters to love and respect animals.
Bahrain Noor El Ain has also formed a Farmers Collaborative initiative which gives local farmers a chance to develop their skills and get in touch with big businesses in order to further sell their produce.
A representative said: “The farmers will take part in a training programme which will teach them about food hygiene, grading, pricing, packaging and marketing. After the farmers complete the programme, they are placed on a special website which will display farmers’ profiles, photos, biographies, harvest, production capacity and a calendar of each month’s seasonal produce and by which farmer.
“In the long term, this will be a platform for consumers to connect directly with farmers online to promote local produce and fair trade practices in Bahrain.”
Shuttle buses will also be located near the Diraz Boys School from 8am onwards to pick up and drop off visitors to the market, free of charge.
For details on the bazaar and the festival, which ends on February 16, visit www.bahrainnoorelain.com, or follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @bahnoorelain.
