The Rage rebuilds 1990s Abu Dhabi at the Cultural Foundation until Sunday, free
A free six-day pop-up at the Cultural Foundation recreates the city's 1990s streets, with 20 shops, 20 food stalls, arcade games and themed films, every evening from 5pm to midnight until 8 November.
Anyone who grew up in the UAE in the 1990s has a few more evenings to walk back into it. The Rage, a free pop-up at the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi, recreates the city's streets of that decade, with shopfronts, signs and sounds that older residents will know at once. It opened on 3 November and runs until Sunday 8 November, every day from 5pm to midnight, What's On reported.
The street is built as a row of old-style shops, with painted signboards in Arabic and English, a cafeteria with plastic chairs, a photo studio, a toy shop and a telephone box. Behind the facades are 20 retail brands and 20 food and drink brands selling in the spirit of the time, along with classic arcade games. An amphitheatre on site shows themed films and stages performances through the evening, and retro fashion and music run through the whole event.
The Cultural Foundation, next to Qasr Al Hosn in the centre of Abu Dhabi, is the city's best-known arts centre and was itself a landmark of those years, which makes it a fitting place for a nostalgia night. The Rage is one of several retro events in the capital this season and comes in the same week as the Sharjah Book Fair and the start of Dubai's National Month, so there is plenty for families across the emirates.
Entry is free and no ticket is needed, according to What's On. The organisers post updates on Instagram at therageuae. Evenings are the time to go: the event only opens at 5pm, and the last nights, Friday to Sunday, are likely to be the busiest, so arrive early for parking around Qasr Al Hosn. From Dubai, the Cultural Foundation is in central Abu Dhabi on Al Hosn Street. Food and shopping are paid for at each stall, and prices have not been published.