‘Nasayem February’

[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="‘Nasayem February’" ids="123766,123767,123768,123769"] By Hanan Alnufaie NASAYEM February was a major entertainment event that took place at Riyadh InterContinental Hotel’s golf club from Feb. 23 to 26. The family-oriented event on the first day attracted over 10,000 people who came out to enjoy their weekend in an outdoor setting. Saudi Gazette sat down with Abdulkarim Al-Ammash, executive director of the event organizer Roval International Company, to discuss the impact of the event on vendors who were mostly made up of productive families selling homemade products. “This event attracted families and at the same time it attracted productive families who displayed and sold their homemade products. The event also had various programs tailored to children and adults. The preparations for the event took nearly five months because we wanted to focus on productive individuals and families who had products that really stood out,” he said. “We had over 93 booths for food and beverages, fashion, homemade perfumes, art, creative event planners and even toys and games. There were some booths run by international food chains but we were keen on inviting individuals and families with small businesses to encourage them to get their names out,” he added. According to Al-Ammash, the organizers’ goal of helping small businesses thrive was overwhelmingly achieved with many family-run businesses reporting swift profits on Day 1. “I remember talking to one woman who told me that she earned three times more than the money she paid to rent the booth on the first day itself. We were very happy at hearing this of course. For us, their success was our success,” he said. Organizers chose an outdoor venue to take advantage of the cool weather and the hotel’s gulf club, a vast area featuring small hills, gave them space to apply some creative ideas regarding decoration. In an effort to streamline the ticketing process, organizers teamed up with Luxury KSA to sell tickets online. On the first day, more than 10,000 visitors attended the event. On the second day, all 8,000 tickets were sold out by 6 p.m. The third and last day saw a drastic drop in visitors, something Al-Ammash attributed to the start of the week. The event was a success largely due to the efforts of volunteers whose number totaled 180. “We had 80 female volunteers and 100 male volunteers. They were all university students who were interviewed and chosen for their excellent communication skills. They were excellent; surely we would not have succeeded without their help. We also discovered that our youth have endless energy for working and cooperating with others. They were the actual organizers of this event and I was happy to see our visitors warmly welcomed and assisted with any issues they had,” he said. Al-Ammash thanked Riyadh Traffic Police for supporting the event by dispatching extra police to control traffic around the hotel, the Civil Defense for their logistical support and hotel management for their cooperation in making the event a success.