NJD after a DSS face painting when she was young….she always chose a tiger design

Summer in Dubai these days are a lot different than 10 years ago thanks to the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment, an agency under the Department of Economic Development of Dubai who have planned more than a 100 exciting shows and activities over 31 days set to cement Dubai’s reputation as the finest summer destination in the region through Dubai Summer Surprises 2012 (DSS).

DSS will run from June 14th to July 14th with the slogan “Dubai. Summer Fun and More”. I remember working with the DSF/DSS team in 2000 and had lots of fun at the DSF offices then with H.E. Laila Suhail who is now the CEO of DEPE and Ibrahim Saleh, Festivals Coordinator General and Deputy CEO of DEPE. Both of them are just as dynamic as I knew them 12 years ago and its great to see that they keep each year’s events fresh with new activities….I’m particularly excited with all the spa offers I’m about to experience – my body certainly needs it.

To know what you want to indulge in this year, check out the “Dubai Calendar” which gives visitors and residents a month-by-month line-up of the unique and entertaining events taking place in the city all year round and it is a great source of reference for anyone wanting to make the most of their time in Dubai….it is an awesome tool for people who have visitors all the time in Dubai.

This year’s partners and sponsors which includes Emirates Airlines, AW Rostamani, Al Futtaim Group, Emaar Malls Group, Emaar Properties, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, Al Ghurair City, Mercato, Paris Gallery, EPPCO and ENOC, Dubai World Trade Center, Dubai Duty Free in addition to Master card and Dubai Shopping Malls Group (DSMG), all of which, over the years, have played an important role in the success and continuing growth of DSS.

Malls across the city will play host to DSS signature events, such as World of Stories, Kids Fashion Week, Min Bladi Al Emarat, and the Sheila and Abaya Fashion Show, and kids can look forward to 8 highly popular international stage cartoon shows such as The Smurfs, Barbie, Hello Kitty, Sponge Bob, Charlie and Lola, Ice Age, and Teletubbies….man these bring memories of us going all over town with little diva. I must say I am glad she’s all grown up now and enjoys DSS the way I like – retail therapy!

My favourite bit this DSS will be naturally be the spa offers program “Dubai Spas” with cool discounts at the cream of Dubai’s luxurious spas. I’m not big into raffles partly because I never win anything but DSS usually has some mega prizes.

I’m pretty sure there is a lot more news coming up for DSS but the taster activity schedule that landed in my inbox makes me want to just here all summer.