It was 5:55am on a Tuesday. “Nobody’s going to come!” said someone. “Don’t say that!” was the response. They needn’t have worried: the first Sunrise Nation event in Dubai saw almost 100 people partying together from 6-9am, brought together only by word-of-mouth on social media.
They haven’t looked back since; they offer the first and only “transcendent morning party” in the region. The three founders are Emirati, Lebanese, and Palestinian-Iraqi, and the atmosphere is best described by them:
“Pump your fists and dance your worries away to a live DJ in a judgement-free, alcohol-free environment. Help yourself to a free hug, take part in urban yoga sessions, meditative stretching, hula hooping, a gratefulness art project, and top it all off with some guilt-free indulgence! All things nutritious and organic.”
And, we’re excited to announce that the Sunrise Nation founders and their music director/resident DJ James Locksmith have curated a playlist for the BarakaBits community:
Use it to start your mornings off right, to get through the post-lunch slump, to unwind at the end of the day, and of course to get excited about the next Sunrise Nation party on June 24th! True to their community-oriented attitude, they run the entire event off of their Facebook page. The crowd is a mix of expats from MENA and the rest of the world, and everyone there is internationally-minded.
But now, let’s go back in time, when Rasha Gebran, Alamira Reem al Ayedrous and Tamara Ghazi were childhood friends in Abu Dhabi. The girls were split up by life, ending up thousands of miles away from each other, only to reunite as adults in the UAE. Rasha is now an architect, Alamira is a PhD in Urban Planning, and Tamara is a Doctor of Chiropractic.
From the moment they first had the idea for Sunrise Nation, it only took them two weeks to plan and execute the first party. They make no money off of the free event, which has a fitness/health element, a party element, and a self-expression element. “We’ve had people show up in bow ties and in pajamas,” said Alamira. “You can move in and out of activities as you want, or of course you can just have some amazing food and watch. But we encourage everyone to dance their feet off!”
And that’s #goodnews.
For more information: Sunrise Nation; BarakaBits/Sunrise Nation Playlist; DJ James Locksmith
