Half-term is a few weeks away (Yikes!), the weather's finally cooperating (when it feels like it), and this week has one of those lineups where nobody in the family loses.

What are you waiting for? Let’s go.

> Girls Skate Session — Gooder, Al Serkal Avenue
A girls-only skate night for ages 6+, and it’s ok whether you've never touched a board or you've been riding for years. Free skate session, free board rentals, free pizza, free photo booth. The theme is: free! Bring your own board if you have one — rentals are limited. Under-18s need a guardian's signature on the liability form. Sat 3 Oct · 6–9pm · FREE · Ages 6+ · Al Serkal Avenue

> Fairt Tales with Orchestra — New Covent Garden Theatre
The UAE Philharmonic Orchestra does Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, alongside Aladdin, Sinbad and Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice. It’s an hour, no interval, built as a genuine first-concert experience for kids. Two shows Saturday. Sat 3 Oct · 3pm & 5pm · Mall of the Emirates. Tickets. Younger kids, 4 to 10 years, will enjoy this best.

> Saturn at Opposition — SEE Institute, Sustainable City
Saturn at its brightest all year, rings and all, seen through proper telescopes. Sun 4 Oct · 7–9pm · AED 80 kids / AED 100 adults. All ages

> The Camel Farm Dubai reopens
Family tours, camel rides, birthday parties, school visits, private dinners. Back after the summer break. Opens 1 Oct. All ages

> Strawberry Fields, Al Serkal — Peek-a-Boo Canvas
This is one entry in a themed monthly series. The others in the series: Ghost Suncatchers on Oct 10, Spooky Houses on Oct 17, and a full Halloween Fiesta on Oct 24, so this is the opener for their October run. Peek-a-Boo Canvas itself is a canvas-painting activity for the very young. More.
Ages 3+, Sat 3 Oct, 10am–12pm, AED 85.

> Mumu Family Cotton Candy Show
Their Saturday entertainment schedule is running all October — this week it's a cotton candy show. Ages 2-12 Sat 3 Oct, Dubai Hills Mall. More.

> Sharjah Motor Fest — Al Qasba
Modified cars, live music, mascots, family entertainment, running all the way through mid-January. Free entry.

> woodwizardsdubai Woodworking lessons and art for your family.
Ages 5-15 (and more) More.

Dubai's K-Fest wound down last week, but Korea isn't done with the UAE. The Korean Cultural Center is running a free Janggu (traditional drum) program at Arirang Hall — four classes plus a final showcase, 15 spots per class, apply soon, the results go out Oct 2. Worth a shot if your kid likes rhythm and drums.
Apply here.

Also, the Korean Market at Al Ghurair Centre is the big one this week — four nights, Oct 1 to 4, 5 to 10pm in the Grand Atrium, with K-pop dance, Random Play Dance, workshops and arts and crafts.

And mark the calendar for Arirang Festival Vol. 2 - only for girls - in Al Ain — K-pop dance, competitions, Korean food, free entry — though that one's a way off yet (Nov 6–7).

> K-POPz Live — Theatre by QE2
A high-energy K-pop tribute show — BLACKPINK, BTS, KATSEYE, TWICE and more, live choreography, immersive visuals. 95 minutes with an interval. Book on Platinumlist — Fri 2 & Sat 3 Oct · from AED 120 · Ages 3+ need a ticket

> Kefi — Books, Board Games & Coffee, Al Mamzar
A café built around 300+ board games, community pop ups, and a library you can borrow from. They also do birthday parties, so worth knowing for later in the year too.

> Spinneys Family Fun Run — Pink Run
The Spinneys Family Fun Run series is back for a new season, opening with a dedicated Pink Run in support of breast cancer awareness — 100% of entry fees go to Al Jalila Foundation. Every participant gets a T-shirt, finisher medal, post-run snack, and a downloadable certificate. @spinneysuae — Sat 3 Oct, Damac Mall.

> The Martian Movie Night — SEE Institute, Sustainable City
A screening of The Martian, followed by an expert panel discussion, space trivia, a hands-on planting activity, and telescope observations. Register here. Sat 10 Oct · 5–9pm, AED 80-90

> No Plans Crew — Al Quaa, Abu Dhabi
The last Al Quaa nights of the season — dark, moonless skies out in the desert, genuinely good for meteors and the Milky Way. Limited spots each night, DM to join. After this, they're wrapping up for the season. Oct 3, 9 & 10

> Umm Al Emarat Park Outdoor Cinema, Abu Dhabi
Their outdoor cinema experience is back — three nights of movies on the big screen in the park, with families spread out on blankets under the stars.
Fri–Sun · 6–9pm

Anyone under 18 gets into three of Abu Dhabi's main museums free, year-round, no dates to work around: Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi (a full T. rex skeleton, a 25-metre blue whale, a meteorite older than Earth), Louvre Abu Dhabi's Children's Museum (hands-on rather than behind glass), and Zayed National Museum (300,000 years of Emirati history, better suited to an afternoon visit).

Also worth knowing: Peet's Coffee is doing buy-one-get-one-free on any coffee, any size, October 1 only, at every UAE branch — good excuse for a coffee run with a friend. Mushrif Park Swimming Pool is AED 10.50 for a swim, with separate pools for kids, ladies and gents plus a lifeguard on duty.

Half-term camps are filling up fast — Diverse Performing Arts is running a Thriller-themed singing, dancing and acting camp Oct 12–16 (AED 850–1,150 depending on age; woo-hoo! has its Whimsical Week science-and-creativity camp on the same dates across Al Quoz and Festival City (@woohoouae).

Uptown Social is running two separate workshop series through October — a kids' one on Sundays (Clay Fish Oct 11, Weaving Flowers Oct 18, Suncatchers Oct 25, AED 160 with food, ages 4+) and an adults' one on Saturdays (Linocut Oct 10, Mesh Bags Oct 17, Painting Oct 24, AED 190 with food).

Demetra Art Gallery in Business Bay has eight workshops running through October — mosaic sessions alternating with architecture-themed ones, for kids and adults, standalone or as a full series.

The Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi is bringing Anime Memories on Oct 17 — musicians from Tokyo reimagining One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer and Studio Ghibli music on piano, violin and cello, tickets here. And the Sharjah Animation & Comics Conference has its full agenda live now for Oct 22–25 in Aljada.

Further out: the Baby & Kids Expo lands Oct 22–24 at Dubai Exhibition Centre, the Stories of Our Determination short film competition for young and first-time filmmakers closes Oct 25, and Dubai Design Week (Nov 3–8) is now open for volunteer applications — a genuinely good one for students who want real event experience alongside designers and brands.

That's your week. Skate, stargaze, or just go say hi to the camels.

— Parves

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