Dubai Jazz Festival

The Skywards Dubai International Jazz Festival has taken place in the city since 2003, growing from its original 8,000-strong audience to more than 50,000 being predicted at the 2012 event, which features such notable international artists as James Blunt, Jools Holland, James Morrison and Jason Mraz across nine days in the United Arab Emirate.

This year, the festival moves to a new, larger and more prestigious venue at Dubai Festival City, and takes place from 16 to 24 February, with the popular Jazz Garden being open from the 18 to 22. The biggest gigs are scheduled to take place on the weekends of 16 and 17 February and 23 and 24 February, with tickets selling fast for these high-profile performances.

The festival is operated by Chillout Productions and has been a popular fixture of Dubai's music calendar for almost a decade, with audiences growing significantly each year and the calibre of artists becoming ever greater and more eclectic. The festival expanded in 2005 to take place across three days and on three separate stages across the DMC lakeside area, also increasing the frequency of shows to six per night to offer attendees even greater value. These improvements were recognised the following year, as the festival was awarded the 'What's On Favourite Festival' award in 2006.

Initially drawing local residents, expats and audiences from other GCC countries, the festival received greater international attention in the years that followed, and more European attendees and performers flocked to the event from 2007 onwards, a year that included performances from Jamie Cullum and Toto among others. 2008 was another landmark year for offering free concerts across its first seven days, with artists including David Gray and Robin Gibb of The Bee Gees, followed in 2009 by the likes of James Blunt and John Legend, James Morrison in 2010 and Macy Gray in 2011.

2011 also saw successful collaborations with the British Council in Dubai and UK Jazz Services to encourage more people to take flights to Dubai from Britain, as the diversity of artists expanded to cover more genres of music. Whether you're a fan of jazz, blues, R&B, pop or rock, the Dubai Jazz Festival is sure to offer something to whet your appetite, and a number of free events are planned across its nine days this February. If you've never visited the UAE before, the festival could be a great opportunity to explore what Dubai has to offer.

Bruce Giles writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article about the jazz festival and flights to Dubai is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.

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Travel Tips: Taking Your Family To A Local County Fair Or Festival

If you're looking for a great affordable travel option for your family in the nicer weather months, then you should consider going to a local county fair or festival. The odds are that you probably have several different options to choose from when it comes to events like this in your area, and it only takes a little bit of research to discover what the best family-focused, inexpensive events there are within driving distance in your area.

Residents of urban areas and cities might not have many options when it comes to county fairs, but you'll almost certainly discover that there are some really enjoyable annual festivals in your area. Music festivals, ethnic and food festivals, and many other types of events are quite common in larger metropolitan areas. They almost never charge a large amount to attend (in fact, most of them are completely free), and are usually family-friendly and fun for kids to attend, as well.

In more rural settings, a county fair can be one of the premier entertainment events in the calendar year, depending on where you live. County fairs are usually very large undertakings that take place on expansive fairgrounds and charge a nominal ticket price for attendees. They often feature livestock judging contests, stock car races, live entertainment and music, rides for the kids, and midway games where you can spend money and win prizes.

County fairs are so popular in some subcultures, in fact, that there is a large fan base of fair devotees who travel the country in the summertime to attend these events in many different states. At any great county fair, you'll probably see expansive parking areas with plenty of mobile homes owned by visitors who came from out-of-town to take part in the fun.

Festivals, on the other hand, are usually much shorter and smaller events. Although the might feature a ride or two and a few booth games, they more often revolve around a central theme. Food festivals are popular (some of the most popular events have names like the Corn Festival, the Cheese Festival or the Fish Festival). Festivals that focus on fun aspects of a specific ethnicity are also common, as well, and can vary based on the ethnic makeup of your city.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you need to spend a great deal of money in order to find something fun for your family to take part in every year. Taking them to a local festival or county fair can be rewarding, memorable and even create a fun tradition that will continue for many years to come.

Please visit our website to learn more about the Lorain County Fair and the Lorain International Festival.

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