10 things to do today: Visit the newly opened Aventura Nature Adventure Park, head to The Festival at Masdar City, and more



Your daily guide to community and cultural activities across the Emirates for January 21, 2017, including performances, festivals, art exhibitions, film screenings, health and fitness events, talks, classes, workshops and family fun.

Abu Dhabi

Film screening

Catch a screening of the 1925 Charlie Chaplin comedy film The Gold Rush at Cinema Space. The film is considered to be Chaplin's masterpiece, and follows his character the Little Tramp as a prospector in the search for fortune in the Klondike and his romance with a dancer, Georgia (Georgia Hale), complete with timeless gags. The newly-restored silent film has English title cards, and features a newly recorded orchestral score.

Today, 4pm, free with registration, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, register at cinemaspace-abudhabi.splashthat.com

Dubai

Fitness fun

Visit the newly opened Aventura Nature Adventure Park, which is set among a 35,000-square metre Ghaf tree forest and features five circuits of tree-surfing, zip-lining, rope-climbing, and obstacles for different heights and age groups. All circuits are staffed by Aventura personnel and include a safety briefing on how to use the equipment. Guests can spend up to three hours on the circuits or spend all day exploring the park on nature walks. A cafe for refreshments is set to open later this month.

Open daily, 9.30am-5pm, Sundays to Thursdays; 9.30am-6pm, Fridays and Saturdays, Dh95 special offer this month (regularly Dh150 for adults, Dh125 for children), Mushrif Park, Mirdif, Dubai, www.aventuradubai.com

Sharjah

Art workshop

Sign up to take part in a tie-dye workshop at Maraya Art Centre. Learn several tie-dye designs and choose from a variety of colours to decorate T-shirts or infinity scarves. The technique involves folding, twisting, pleating or crumpling fabric and binding it with string or rubber bands before applying the dye.

January 29, 5pm-6.30pm, Dh30, Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah, register at 06 556 6555, rsvp@maraya.ae

Abu Dhabi

Sustainability

The Festival at Masdar City invites you to take part in a series of fun, educational activities related to sustainability. To mark Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the festival features educational zones, exhibitors promoting sustainable living solutions, organic produce, workshops, music and food stalls. Learn how to grow your own food in The Greenhouse, make recycled ornaments in The Crafts Zone, enjoy gaming with a sustainability twist in The Arcade Alley, and enjoy other activities and sessions.

Today, 10am-8pm, free, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, www.facebook.com/masdar.ae

Nationwide

New movie

In xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Vin Diesel returns as Cage, the athlete-turned-government-operative who was thought to be long-dead after the second film in the xXx franchise, xXx: State of the Union (2005). He is back, returning from self-imposed exile to race Xiang (Donnie Yen) to find Pandora's Box, a powerful weapon that controls military satellites. Soon Cage finds himself caught up in a deadly government conspiracy. Action adventure, also starring Deepika Padukone, Kris Wu, Ruby Rose, Nina Dobrev, Toni Collette and Samuel L Jackson.

Screening at cinemas across the UAE. (PG-15)

Abu Dhabi

Performance

The NSO Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Andrew Berryman, will present Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck's fully-staged fairy-tale opera in the musical style of Wagner. It stars mezzo-soprano Louise Merrifield as Hansel and soprano Julia Teal Kermott as Gretel, along with a cast of 80 Abu Dhabi resident children in the gingerbread chorus, witch's dance and angel ballet.

March 10-11, 7.30pm gala evening on March 10; 2.30pm matinee on March 11, from Dh75, The National Theatre, Abu Dhabi, www.ticketmaster.ae

Dubai

Art workshop

Visit the Yadawei pottery studio for market day and find handmade items created by local potters and ceramic artists, plus try the potter’s wheel and do some handbuilding sculpture for free. There will be food and drink, and pets are also welcome. Additionally, to celebrate the studio’s first anniversary, take advantage of exclusive promotions on membership and classes, including 30 days for free with standard membership and 50 per cent off trial classes.

Today, 10am-7pm, Yadawei, 8th A Street, Al Quoz, Dubai, 04 379 1312, www.yadawei.net

Dubai

Art exhibition

See Daga'a, a video work by Palestinian artist Shadi Habib Allah, who embarks on a journey across the Sinai Peninsula led by Bedouin smugglers who navigate the terrain, sharing stories and anecdotes that transition into directions for the unrecognised citizens of this no man's land. The film is in Arabic with English subtitles and will run on a loop throughout the day. Pictured: a still from the film Daga'a

Daily until February 7, 10am-7pm, Saturdays to Thursdays (closed Fridays), Green Art Gallery, Street 8, Al Quoz, Dubai, 04 346 9305, www.gagallery.com

Dubai

Art exhibition

New Chapter by Lateefa bint Maktoum, founder and director of Tashkeel, represents a transition in the use of digital media to express the journey of motherhood in its varying stages in minute detail, including the psychological and emotional effects on the artist throughout different stages of pregnancy and motherhood. Pictured: Family

Daily until February 23, 10am-10pm, Saturday to Thursdays (closed Fridays), Tashkeel, Nad Al Sheba Health Center, Dubai, 04 336 3313, www.tashkeel.org

Dubai

Sports event

Register to take part in the Zurich Corporate Touch 6 rugby tournament. Make a day of it with colleagues and friends and enjoy energetic, high-intensity sport in a fun, social environment. Children can participate in the free kids’ tournament, plus there will be entertainment, food trucks and fun for the whole family.

February 24, from 9am, free entry, Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club, Arabian Ranches, Dubai, register teams of 14 at www.zurichcorporatetouch6s.com

Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

INFO

Everton 0

Arsenal 0

Man of the Match: Djibril Sidibe (Everton)

'Nightmare Alley'

Director:Guillermo del Toro

Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara

Rating: 3/5

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima


Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650

Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder

Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm

Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission

Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km