Sunday 2 February 2014

HALA FEBRUARY CARNIVAL 2014

Hala February Carnival was held on Friday 31 January at Salem Mubarak street, Salmiyah in the stretch between Zahra Complex and a little beyond Sultan Center. Lots of police were deployed through the entire carnival location. It was similar to last year's event with lots of food stalls, embassy stalls, and stalls selling toys, souvenirs, and clothes. There was a section where military vehicles, guns and missiles were exhibited, alongside fire fighting vehicles and equipment. The army or navy band  in their immaculate uniform and their musical instruments were there as well. I wished I could have heard the band play. We missed it. 

Many young people and children were dressed up in clothes with the flag colors and masks and interesting hats. For little children there were  fun rides. Several stages were set up through the length of the carnival with continuous activities like dance, game shows with instant prizes,  photo sessions with fairy tale and cartoon characters. Stilt walkers in beautiful costumes was quite a crowd puller.  Fancy limousines were exhibited and there was one limousine which was open for people to go in and have a feel of what's it like. Traditional music and folk dances by Jordanians and Sudanese, was really nice to watch. A small exhibit of  vintage and sports cars was held near Zahra complex. We got to watch an interesting police dog show.  I was hoping there would be a beautiful parade like the one held during Hala February Carnival in 2012. My husband and I were there from 1pm to 4pm and there was no parade. There wasn't any parade last year either.

There was a huge crowd by the time it was 3.30pm. I thought all the crowd would be at the P2BK and Sand Sculpture Park. By 4pm, we decided to leave because it became difficult to move through the thick crowd in the streets. On the whole, we did have a good time at the Carnival. 

I am posting plenty of photos I took at the Carnival. Enjoy!
















































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