Fujairah's Platform 09 is back with food trucks, fashion and a one-hour drone show

Community event has more than 90 vendors, many of whom are residents of Fujairah

The event features 90 local and regional businesses. Photo: Platform 09

Local businesses are in the spotlight at Platform 09, a community festival in Fujairah. The event kicks off on Wednesday evening with a drone show, the first for this emirate.

The five-day event blends fashion, food and design in a sprawling indoor-outdoor purpose-built venue in the northern emirate's Rumailah district.

The event was launched 10 years ago by Sheikha Shamseh bint Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, daughter of Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, and aims to be a platform “where dreams are realised through determination and resilience”.

This year's theme is Infinity, which alludes to the “infinite potential within us … as there is no defined end to what entrepreneurs can achieve”.

To this end, more than 90 vendors, many of whom are residents of Fujairah, will be dotted across the indoor area. The majority of the exhibitors will retail modest fashion pieces, from abayas to kaftans and full-length skirts.

Local and regional designer pop-ups include Aisha Almamary from Oman, Najla Al Harithi from Saudi Arabia and Nadia Saleh from the UAE.

Accessories retailers, including Wazni Jewellery from Abu Dhabi and Swiss watchmaker Jovial, also have stalls, alongside vendors of cosmetics, perfumes and other beauty products.

The venue also has nine interactive zones designed to be “reflective spaces”. At The Maze, for instance, visitors navigate a small labyrinth that “mirrors the entrepreneurial journey”. There's also The Twist, The Side Step and The U-turn, each representing various abstract ideas regarding entrepreneurship.

Food trucks make up the venue's outdoor section, which also has a makeshift stage for daily live performances. Local vendors Strilicious and Rumailah Farm have food pop-ups, as well as Caliente Cafe, Pizza Den and Buns Burgers.

The event will also host an hour-long drone show on Friday at 9pm, and a fireworks display on Sunday at 9pm.

Platform 09 runs until Sunday; Dh40 for single-day entry; Rumailah, Fujairah; platform09.ae