Amin Abbas

The BST Community’s Holiday Meet Up that was held at Dubai Outlet Mall on Dec. 14 and 15 turned out to be a wonderful community event.

Organized by BST, the event gathered passionate fans and collectors of all ages over two days of fun and adventure to celebrate the holiday season.

Ian Eleria from Comicave spoke exclusively to Arab News Japan about the event.

“The BST Community’s Holiday Meet Up is packed with pop culture content from talented artists, statue and toy collectors, TCG fans, handicrafts, kids’ activities and gaming enthusiasts. The Tekken tournament and Street Fighter competitions were on display on stage and full of action.”

Ian made a special mention of key partners Comicave, Rove Hotels, MEFCC, Z Games, IX Gamers, Italia Films, Secret Fresh, Ichiryu Ramen House, Fox Tokyo for the exciting prizes that were given away, and all other sponsors and exhibitors who made the holiday event more cheerful and fun for families.

“The response has been overwhelmingly positive and many of the exhibitors have shared interest in making a return to future events and activations,” he added.

Regarding BST Community’s upcoming activities, Ian said, “Plans are being finalized for the usual expected events in 2025, including Comicave’s Free Comic Book Day in May. However, the team may have few more surprises during the year, so please stay tuned and follow the BST Community pages for future announcements.”

Japan in Arabia, a UAE-based community that promotes Japanese culture and arranged the Japanese calligraphy and origami activities at the event, told Arab News Japan that the event was fantastic and they are grateful for the amazing support from Comicave team.

“We were happy to be part of BST Community’s Holiday Meet Up event,” Japan in Arabia founder Jason Ishida told Arab News Japan.

“At our Japan in Arabia booth, we were excited to showcase the beauty of Japanese culture through personalized name writing. In collaboration with Al Dahlia Kimono, we offered guests the opportunity to have their names beautifully written in sumi ink on fans and framed rice paper. The booth was enhanced by an array of handmade jewelry and accessories that added to the overall experience.

“The response from participants was overwhelmingly positive! Many attendees expressed their excitement about having their names written in Japanese. The variety of anime merchandise caught the attention of fans, while the Street Fighter competition drew enthusiastic participants and spectators alike.

“There were ongoing giveaways throughout the day, and overall, people appreciated the experience, making it a memorable start to the holiday season,” he added.

Ishida is recommending everyone to follow Japan in Arabia Instagram page for their upcoming activities next year as well following Al Dahlia Kimono for their buying or renting Kimono for holiday photo shoots.