Friday March 29th, 2024
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The Market: Affordable Family Fun... Fel Park!

Frustrated by the lack of outdoor, family-friendly activities in Cairo, two super mums are bringing park life to Egypt with Fel Park and their upcoming The Market event. We speak to Eman Badawi and Sara Seif to find out more...

Staff Writer

The current generation of children are mindlessly looking down at their mobiles, emersed in a virtual world that leaves them out of touch with nature and reality. Part of the problem is the lack of affordable outdoor family fun options made available to Egyptians. Looking to fill this void is Fel Park, a new family-centric event management company, that has planned an outdoor day in the park filled with plenty of activities that promises family fun for everyone.

Fel Park is the brainchild of two concerned mothers, Eman Badawi and Sara Seif, who struggled to find outdoor activities for their children that didn't cost an arm and a leg. “Unfortunately we don’t have affordable “fun” in Egypt, it’s either they spend time in closed play area or arcades and they are never satisfied with the time they spend there. Even social clubs are overcrowded so it’s not that fun anymore. We don’t have real parks in Egypt where you can take your kids and just let go of all the chains,” explains Badawi.

Frustrated by the lack of options, these two mothers decided to take matters into their own hands as they hope to share a bit of their childhood experiences with their own prodigies. Badawi firmly believes that “Technology has taken over our lives. I used to play with Barbie, spend my free times at the club playing with other kids. Now, it’s all about iPads and iPhones. The obsession with technology made us forget about connecting with nature and people, even for us adults...We've stopped actually socialising.”

The first event Fel Park organised was a breakfast with Santa event back in December, where over 600 participants of all of ages looking to enjoy the outdoors came out to make their case to Santa on why they were nice this year and deserve a present. From the photos of the event it is clear that everyone was refreshing happy with smiles stretching from ear to ear.

Hoping to build on this momentum, Fel Park has announced that their second event, called The Market, will be a picnic filled with a slew of activities that will be fun for all ages. “Our goal is to start holding bi-weekly events hoping to eventually become a weekly happening. For the inaugural market we have organised a wide range of workshops including; tie dye, pottery, origami, mosaics, jewellery making and pebble painting,” an elated Seif explains.

Beyond providing an open, safe, green space for children to exhaust themselves, the Market also aims to provide relief for parents in need of a break. Participating in the event are the reliable Cairositters who will be planning a full day of fun games for your kids. “People do get bored easily in Egypt, that's why we have more than one activity to entertain all tastes with live music, art exhibitions, yoga, kids activities and board games. We are also excited about finding vendors with special unique products that you don't see at malls or other bazaars and bringing them directly to the people,” describes an excited Badawi.  

Providing the musical entertainment for the day is none other Cairo based musician Abo wel Shabab who will be filling the air with his hilariously unique brand of oriental fusion. According to Seif, “there will be an art gallery on the side, Mandala Yoga will be offering classes, and we have managed to secure several local artisan craftmakers like Gazwareen who will be coming from Alexandria and will be offering some unique colourful and practical furniture made entirely from salvaged drift wood.”

Along with the plenty of fun activities organized comes a diversity of delicious on site options. “We have no intentions of bringing in candy shops but instead are planning to have a variety of options ranging from Egyptians favourite dishes to healthy food options," explains Seif

The Market’s debut is set to take place on Friday March 27th starting from 10am and running until 5pm at the gorgeously open and pristine greens of The Family Park located in New Cairo. Entrance fee is set at an affordable 50 LE, with free admission for children under 6, promising to be most affordable weekend activity for any family. If you are sick and tired of feeling like the only options you have with your kids is to walk around a mall for the billionth time, then The Market is the answer you have been waiting for and, with your support, might just become a regular Friday event that all families become accustomed to anticipating and enjoying.

For more information about Fel Park visit their Facebook by clicking here.

For more information about The Market visit the event on Facebook by clicking here.