Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi and Ali Salem Afifa cutting the QND celebration cake.
Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) kicked off its Qatar National Day (QND) activities with a celebration for its employees yesterday. The celebrations comprised cultural activities, including the traditional “Ardha” sword dance that was performed by Aspire Academy student-athletes and AZF staff, a falconry and camel corner, and family activities including Henna drawings and a traditional Majlis sitting.
Yesterday’s event was attended by AZF CEO Mohammed Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Aspire Academy’s Deputy Director-General Ali Salem Afifa and other senior staff members from Aspire Logistics, Academy and Aspetar in addition to the Academy students.
Speaking about the event, the CEO of AZF said: “The QND’s annual celebration is a testament to Qatar’s success and its blessings thanks to the leadership of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.”
AZF’s QND activities will resume on Saturday, with thrilling events lined up for all local community members to enjoy. From 3pm until 5pm, Aspire Park’s skyline will witness one of the biggest parasailing performances conducted by the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), members of which will descend in different formations into the park behind the lake near Al-Furousiya Street.
At the same time, Lekhwiya’s special forces will showcase the outstanding horses and police dogs who serve alongside the special forces every day. These will include displays of various horse formations and barrier jumps, and a tent pegging demonstration, an ancient sport during which riders overcome an obstacle course while riding a horse and wielding a sword starting behind Burgeri restaurant.
Throughout the weekend after sunset, Aspire Park will also dazzle attendees with its beautiful display of maroon LED flowers on the lake, complementing the colourful decorations in place around the park.
AZF, in collaboration with the Doha Film Institute (DFI) will display the ‘Dari Qatar’ Film at 5:15pm on Sunday. Following the screening, the DFI will choose the top five winners in the ‘short film’ competition launched earlier this month by DFI to mark QND. The short films are inspired by speeches from Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
