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A sea of pink graced Palm Beach Amwaj Island’s Marina as people paddled proudly to raise funds for breast cancer awareness campaign organisation Think Pink Bahrain.
The Pink Paddle day was staged last Friday as the concluding chapter of a wave of special community activities held throughout October on the island with a variety of funfilled water activities for men, women and children of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy.
Despite the low tide and chillier water, more than 350 people rallied to show their support by donning pink and hitting the beach in high spirits. The event was organized in partnership with Bare Organic Chocolates and mobile water-sports school Gypsea Watersports, which comes under the umbrella of Beach Culture, a provider of products and services in the coastal management and recreation industry.
“We have been working with Think Pink Bahrain for a while, trying to find out what is the best way to reach out to the biggest amount of people and do it in a fun and interesting way, where people could interact in the water and redefine the meaning of what it’s like to go to the beach,’ explained Muhanna Aldoseri, Beach Culture’s owner and managing director and founder of the school.
“I’m very happy with the turnout. The day featured excellent weather conditions and great vibes. I love the fact that we had people from all ages and nationalities enjoying the paddle-boarding activities, the kayaks, the Pink Market and the upbeat music.
“There really was something for everyone. We are planning a lot of things in the future and Think Pink themselves are also trying to expand into not only having their events in October but throughout the year.”
More than BD1,000 was raised on the day, with vendors at the Pink Market donating their table cost and food provider il Capo Pizza offering all its proceeds for the cause. The BD2 entry and BD5 per paddle board was also donated to Think Pink.
Stalls featured at the market included dessert stands Dri Dri Gelato and Glucose.bh, along with recreational stalls such as Seashore for snorkeling, Koollook boutique for beach toys and Marine Mania.
There were also stands for Zyya perfumes and cosmetics, Shehzad- get baqala application, Aspire Décor for home decorating and Kaskool. bh which sold Bahraini themed colouring books. Think Pink founder and Chairman Jules Sprakel and her team were also soaking up the sunshine while selling an assortment of rosy-hued merchandise.
Jules said: “This was a great way to finish off the campaign and what a huge effort from Bare Chocolates, Beach Culture and Gypsea Watersports! “Everyone had a lovely time and it was especially great to see people here dressed in our merchandise from two or three years ago.
We have truly come a long way since then.” While visitors dived into tasty gelato and picked up new pink shirts and hats, others took to the sea for paddle sessions and kayaking. The party atmosphere continued with accompanying music as children built sandcastles or went for a swim with their friends.
Meanwhile, parents attempted to get fit with an afternoon of Zumba on the beach too. One of the sweet highlights of the event was the chocolate taste-testing and cooking class courtesy of Bare Chocolates.
May Mahmoud, founder of the organic bars business, said: “It was such a wonderful day. Children really enjoyed cooking with us. We made chocolate truffles and decorated chocolate cupcakes together. We also had a chocolate tasting and held a blind tasting competition.
“I’d like to give a big thank you to the event’s supporters Amwaj Islands, Amwaj Marina, Think Pink and media sponsor DesignGrafix.” Nadia Al Aali, 30, a marketing and sponsorship officer at a school and her husband, Kyle Lemmon, 30, a PE teacher at Nadeen School, joined in the sandy festivities.
Nadia, from Riffa, said: “The Pink Paddle Day was lovely and it clearly showed that the organisers had put so much effort into it. “During October, everybody comes out with some really creative ideas and ways to support the Think Pink initiative.
This is fantastic to see. We came out to tan, have a splash and a paddle … all for a great cause.” Teacher friends Daniela Araujo, 30, from Seef, and Karina Miyashiro, 36, from Saar, also had a great time.
Daniela said: “This was such a wonderful idea to get the community involved. What a great way to spend the weekend!” Although another BD4,700 has been donated from the recent Gravity event, Think Pink Bahrain will have a better idea on how much has been collected totally when everything has been added up and an announcement will be made shortly.
