ISLAMABAD: Nothing sets you up for a weekend quite like a day off in the middle of the week. After two days back in the office, it’s time to slip off your work pants and pull on your party ones with an Islamabad weekend embroidered to the hems with diverse activities to indulge in.
First and foremost, those pants better have an elastic waist because it’s the weekend and we have to eat for winter! With the weather so gorgeous, it’s imperative that you take advantage.
All summer we (primarily this author) wait for winter so we can venture out of our shade and into the light. So there’s no better time to head for a rooftop brunch, lunch or even dinner. For some traditional decadent eats, Chattha’s sun-drenched rooftop is the right place to grab a paratha (or ten) and mouthwatering nihari.
If you want to work for your food — and by work we mean walk between feedings at multiple food stalls — Coke’s Food Festival is coming to Islamabad this weekend. The city’s hottest eats, from restaurants and start-up eateries, as well as visiting food establishments from the culinarily superior Lahore and Karachi, are taking residence in the capital for three days of yummy treats. Each night the festival will have performances from leading musicians of the country (Lahore’s had Abrar-ul-Haq).
If eating and walking to eat again, and again and again, is not your thing (to each their own) and you wish to feed a different type of palette, say your art one, My Art World is hosting a phenomenal exhibition by Zoya Manan at the Arts & Crafts Village on Shakarparian Road. The solo show was inaugurated by HE British High Commissioner Thomas Drew and will be open until 30 November.
If photography is your jam, then head to Gallery 6 for an exhibition from German snapper Michael Paulo. Showcasing his ‘Urban Walks,’ the collection is a walk through the city centers of Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi. Laid out to mimic the experience of walking through a city, the show is punctuated with original artwork and illustrations depicting the cities’ histories.
If peering at art is not arty enough for you this weekend, then make Sunday your day for investing in multiple performances of artistic expression.
FACE Pakistan is hosting its very first all-day festival. ‘November Rain’ — the inauguration of what will be a monthly series — features storytelling, spoken word, musical performances and stand-up comedy, with a qawwali performance finale.
Performers include Kamran Rizvi, Natasha Humera Ejaz, comedian Anaya Sheikh and Qawal master Sultan Ul Qadira. The festival is divided according to performers, so visitors can pick and choose what they want to enjoy on their Sunday.
