Coming live: Sesame Street’s Treasure Hunt

Sesame Street’s Treasure Hunt, a live theater educational and entertainment show (“Iftah ya Simsim” in Arabic), will be held across the Kingdom in the coming days.
The show will be presented by famous puppet characters such as Big Bird, Ernie, Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster and Khokha.
“The show was organized last December at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) after a 30-year absence,” said Feras Al-Maddah, the man responsible for the show’s marketing. “The first show will take place at Dhahran Mall from April 17-19, at the International Exhibition Center in Madinah from April 24-26 and at the King Fahd Cultural Center in Riyadh from Oct. 1-4.”
The dates for the showing in Taif and Abha are to be announced soon.
Al-Maddah described the support of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities and the Ministry of Culture and Information as crucial and positive. “This will help bring various international events to the Kingdom,” he said.
Al-Maddah said Sesame Street remains very popular among parents. It has nearly 13,000 members on Facebook who are aged between 18 and 34. Dr. Ali Abdel Khaleq Al-Qarni, director-general of the Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States, which is one of the organizers, said the program is part of the cultural and educational activities of the Sesame Street initiative.
The puppets deliver key messages to children on a number of issues such as environment, recycling, water conservation, energy, traffic safety, personal hygiene and respect for parents and elders.
He said the show presents a vibrant dialogue among the characters that includes singing and dancing. The whole focus is on educating the young and impressionable viewers.
Sesame Street is a nonprofit organization working to educate children both locally and globally. The organization develops their content for children with the help of local educators.