A string of events are being held across the country to celebrate the Eid Al Adha holidays.
In Abu Dhabi there are activities at KidsFest from Tuesday until Saturday at Zayed Sports City.
The free festival has carnival rides, sports clinics, arts and crafts, talent competitions, a petting zoo and live entertainment.
Abu Dhabi and Al Ain's malls and the Abu Dhabi Corniche will come alive with entertainment as 21 internationally renowned street performers strut their stuff during EidFest Abu Dhabi to perform music, dance and much more.
Artists from Argentina, Spain, the United States and Australia will be part of a series of 40-minute shows.
At the Corniche, henna painting and ayala dancing will be part of Eid festivities, as well as an Eid market and heritage zone.
Emirates Park Zoo, in Al Bahia, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, will host animal entertainment shows this Eid until October 19.
The shows will feature some of the zoo’s 1,700 animals, which include a pair of white tigers, a 300-kilogram Siberian bear, lions, cheetahs and zebras. For more information call 02 563 3100.
In Dubai, an exhibition of light-themed artwork will be on show starting on Tuesday at The Walk, JBR, and Bay Avenue, in Business Bay, hosted by Dubai Properties Group.
The event will bring together local artists to express what Eid means to them through the use of lights.
Activities for children will also be included from 7pm onwards Tuesday and Wednesday. The display will last for four days and is open from 7pm to 11pm. Admission is free.
Season two of the Fashion Forward event begins on Tuesday with a line-up of shows, talks, parties and jewellery and accessory sales.
Taking place at the Madinat Arena, at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah, the event is on until October 18. Admission is Dh75 and Dh150 for a four-day pass with discounts for students. For more information visit www.fashionforward.ae.
The beach family fair in Dubai continues this week until October 19 at the Jumeirah Open Beach, Umm Suqeim 2.
As well as fireworks displays every evening, there will be shows, water-based activities, games and much more from 10am to 9pm.
International food kiosks will be set up at the event. For more information, call 600 545555.
Malls across Dubai will be offering a host of family entertainment through the holiday season until October 19.
Stage and roaming performers including solo musicians, clowns and stilt walkers from around the world will be on hand to entertain during one of the busiest weeks of the year at the emirate’s malls. For more information call 600 545555.
The Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre in Dubai will be welcoming guests with special Emirati traditions.
At Dubai airport and at various shopping malls, among other places, visitors and residents alike can go to hospitality tents to have a taste of Emirati hospitality, such as traditional Arabic sweets, dates and coffee. For more information, call 600 545555.
For more information on events in Abu Dhabi go to visitabudhabi.ae/en/events.
* Melanie Swan