The Indian festival of colours, Holi, falls on March 25 this year and there are plenty of concerts and dining offers around turning the city into a kaleidoscope of colour. Although this Hindu spring festival is almost a month away, Dubai is getting a headstart on the festivities this year. The first weekend of March is brimming with opportunities to smear friends and family with coloured powders and get drenched in bright vibrant hues. Here’s a list of 6 parties to celebrate Holi in Dubai.
1. AKS Color Carnival, March 2
This family-friendly event is the only Holi event happening on a Saturday, giving you enough time to rinse and recover from all that multi-coloured madness. This fourth edition of the AKS Color Carnival is taking place at The Sevens Stadium and will be a massive shindig with over 15,000 revellers expected. To begin with, a star-studded DJ lineup of renowned Indian music producers like DJs Ace, Buddha, KV5, Purab, Yogmusic, and Zubair will pump up the tempo. Other entertainment acts include live dhol players and captivating carnival acts. There’ll be food trucks, an arts and crafts zone a kids play area and a play area for adults too. From 11am -8pm.
Tickets from AED 69 per person; more info here.
2. Atrangi Holi Fest, March 3
Dubai Sports City’s Rugby Square is going to be a riot of colours as the Atrangi Holi Fest unfolds from 12pm-10pm. 10 different musicians and DJs will be performing at this ten-hour-long party. Some of the big names appearing here are social media star Bhumicka Singh, and DJ Lady Bardot. Enjoy live dhol music, and fuel up on licensed beverage food from stalls when you’re tired from running around hurling colours and busting some desi moves. There’s also a kids’ and adults’ play area at this event.
Tickets from AED 35; find details here.
3. Holi Masti, March 3
Party people can get an early start to the dancing and colour-throwing at this event in the Al Sahara Desert Resort from 10am. You’ll be partying all day to non-stop music amidst the dunes by renowned DJs and singers from India. Nindy Kaur, Kanika Kapoor, Sukriti Kakkar, and Prakriti Kakkar are the headliners here. Moreover, there’ll be a VIP Arena, a special kids area, licensed beverages and food stalls serving scrumptious Indian food. Additionally, the event will only be handing out organic colours so your colour wars remain safe.
Tickets from AED 80 per person; get tickets here.
4. Meteora Rang Barse, March 3
Want a splash of water views while you’re splashing around in colours? Rang Barse Holi event at the Creek Park in Oud Metha offers that and more for a ridiculously affordable ticket fee of AED 10 per person! Besides the views, expect photo booths, food and drink stalls, organic colours and electrifying performances by Indian Idol singer Jannabi Das, DJ Kimi, DJ JM5 and Emcee Lakshmi Shirin. Kids below 3 years of age can attend this event for free.
From 10:30am to 8:30pm; find details here.
5. Holi Sundowner, March 3
This annual Holi bash will paint Jebel Ali’s JA Shooting Club red, blue, purple, pink, green and more. A packed line-up of 11 DJs will get the celebrations started at 11am and the boisterous fun will be fuelled for the next 12 hours with a live bar on-site, food stalls, and access to colour packets, water guns and pichkari (traditional Indian water gun).
Tickets from AED 125 per person, kids under 10 go for free. Call 058 588 9553 or get tickets here
6. Holi Music Mantra, April 11
Zabeel Park’s greenery will turn into an explosion of red, blue, yellow and pink on April at this belated Holi Celebration. This cultural event will bring the park’s amphitheatre alive with desi food stalls, heaps of Holi colours and musical performances. Three singers from the reality show Indian Idol as well as a host of DJs will entertain guests all day. Children aged 10 and below enter free.
From 10am; tickets from AED 45 per person; more details here.