Family-friendly activities, food kiosks as CTC festival begins

Doha, Qatar: The 10 day Coffee Tea Chocolate (CTC) Festival commenced yesterday at Mina Park in Old Doha Port, with over 40 kiosks offering an array...

Doha, Qatar: The 10-day Coffee Tea & Chocolate (CTC) Festival commenced yesterday at Mina Park in Old Doha Port, with over 40 kiosks offering an array of coffee, tea, chocolate, and sweets, complemented by a food court featuring eight restaurants.

From 6pm onwards, the festival comes alive with full-packed activities, including stilt walkers, roaming characters, bubble soap and glitter shows, unicycle jugglers, and parade LED musicians. Stage performances add to the vibrancy, featuring DJs, pianists, live duos accompanied by singers and painters, and soulful singers. Running daily until April 20, the festival opens from 4pm to midnight.

CTC Festival General Manager, George Simon, highlighted the event’s appeal to families, kids, and individuals, stressing its status as a beloved annual tradition in the country. “The festival is a perfect destination for families, kids and individuals.” Moreover, the event serves as a platform for various companies to showcase their coffee, tea, and chocolate products, solidifying its reputation as a must-visit event.

This year, the festival relocated to Old Doha Port, a departure from its previous venue at Al Bidda Park for the past three editions. Participating restaurants include Desi Dhaba, Balkan Food Factory, Khao San, FlaminGo, Fudo, Alflah, Shawarma Palace, and Proper Pizza, offering a diverse culinary experience from Indian, Thai, Japanese, Arabic, Filipino, Italian, and more.

The lineup of over 40 kiosks features renowned names such as Sweetio, McLaren Cafe, Ice Cream Plaza, Qatar National Import & Export, The Zumo Company, Q Balloon Trading, Nablus House, Waf Events, Q’Tea, Lokmades, More Toys, Best Moments, Salsabeel, Nice Time, Gelato Divino, Paws, Overbean, Charger, Blended Cafe, Mini Melts, Park Point Cafe, Brownietale, Pinkberry, Tabiboba, Melenzane, among others. Beyond its culinary offerings, organisers stressed that the CTC Festival serves as a hub for global exhibitors to showcase their finest chocolate, tea, and coffee while sharing their cultural heritage. On the first day of the event, hundreds of people visited the festival even on its opening time at 4pm. Furthermore, organisers expect that the 10-day festival will receive a total of 60,000 visitors.