Besat El-Reeh is Ramadan’s most celebrated and biggest charity bazaar. It is the place to see and be seen in during the holy month. This year marked Besat El-Reeh’s 13th anniversary. The event has been around for a long time, catering to the various needs of women, such as, thobes, abayas, fashion and home accessories, food and more.
The annual bazaar is a women-only event and has an entrance fee of SR50. The first four days of the local bazaar were open especially for women, while men could visit only on the last day. The bazaar featured 174 exhibitors and hosted over 2100 visitors per day. Funds from the booth rent and entrance fee will go to The National Charity for Home Health Care based in Saudi Arabia. “For more than a decade, this annual bazaar has opened many doors for the private sector to help Saudi based societies and individuals,” said Princess Adelah bint Abdullah, president of the foundation. “This bazaar is one of the most important charity bazaars that has achieved much success and proves the creativity of Saudi women and their solidarity with the charitable work to support the humanitarian projects of long-stay patients,” she said.
Besat El-Reeh has been a highly successful event ever since its inception, said Randa Al-Fadl, founder of the event. “We think the event this year was a huge success knowing that almost 1800 woman visited during the first hour only,” she said. “This bazaar is the biggest charity event in the Kingdom and we have exhibitors and visitors from inside and outside the Kingdom who come especially to shop and showcase their products to Jeddawi women,” she added.
The event is especially popular among fashion lovers, such as 19-year-old college student, Seba Tariq. “This bazaar is an opportunity for us to learn more about local fashion and local products,” Tariq said. “I have been attending this event for years now to buy locally designed abayas and Ramadan thobes. It’s a great opportunity for Saudi designers to showcase their designs and products,” she added.
Abaya designer Huda Buloushi came especially from Kuwait to showcase her designs in the Saudi market. “This is the first time I am displaying my designs in Saudi Arabia and I chose to first show it in this bazaar to test the market and see people's response to my abayas," she said. “I have heard so much about Besat El-Reeh from my friends, who especially come here to attend and buy Saudi made products,” Buloushi added.
However, most products at the bazaar are over priced as designers hike the rates so as to cover the cost of the display booths. “The rent of the booth goes up to SR25,000. The sale of all products is not guaranteed so we have to increase the prices for our designs to ensure that we cover the cost of the booth,” said a thobe designer at the bazaar. “This bazaar is a great opportunity for those starting businesses, where people can showcase their products and market it to hundreds of women who visit daily,” she added.
Most designers ask costumers to visit their boutiques for better prices. “When I visited a famous designer’s booth, I noticed she had very high prices and I know her prices are not usually that high. When I asked her she said that I should visit her store for a better price,” said housewife Nadia Mufleh. “Designers should know that shoppers look for lower prices in bazaars because it’s an opportunity for many designers to market their products to a huge number of customers,” she added.
Housewife Maha Essam said one of the good things about the bazaar is the seating area, where women can sit down and enjoy a cup of tea. “I like the fact that Paul and Al-Shourafa took part in the exhibition. With all these people around and hours of shopping, one needs to sit down and relax for a while,” she said. “I also liked that they offered suhoor meals because the event closed at 2 a.m. However, the place and the seating area is not big enough and we need more space. I wish that next year's bazaar sees the participation of other cafés too,” Essam said.
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