December 16, 2002	Monday	Shawwal 11, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: The ‘All About Lifestyles 2002’ exhibition, organized by the Dawn Group of Newspapers at the Convention Centre, proved to be a magnet for the residents of the twin cities who poured in large numbers on its second and last day on Sunday.

While on the opening day, only about 17,000 people turned up at the exhibition owing to inclement weather conditions and Saturday being a working day, Sunday saw the crowds jampacking the area.

According to safe estimates, some 76,000 people visited the exhibition in the two days.

Over 100 reputed national and multinational companies had set up their stalls on the occasion, catering to the tastes of all age-groups.

The stalls displayed a wide range of items ranging from food stuff and toothpastes to carpets, stationary, mobile phones and, even, cars.

The children were, in particular, very excited as the event offered a lot of attractions for them. The Young World, Dawn magazine for children, had arranged painting, sketching, drawing, face-painting as well as essay competitions for the children. Jumping castles were another attraction for the children.

The two-day exhibition was unique in a sense that it was well-organized and no entry fee was charged. Lucky draws were also held. Some of the companies were distributing free products, while others sold items at reduced rates.

The most interesting event on the second day of the exhibition was, perhaps the ‘Dog Show’. About 140 to 150 dogs of at least 15 different breeds competed in five categories of the show.

The judges were truly exhausted by the time they finalized the results. The show started at 11am and ended at 6:45pm. The breeds of dogs which took part in the competition included German Shepherd, Rottweiler, Labrador, Spaniels, Doberman, Pekingese, Chow Chow, Dalmatian, Pointers, Great Dane, St Bernard, Pit Bull and Terriers.

Dr Faisal Khan, a veterinary surgeon, who was in the panel of judges, said the show was confined only to ‘breed confirmation’ and some ‘basic training’ judgment of the competing dogs.

“Almost all the dogs and puppies which participated in the show went away with a prize or two in the end because as many as 150 prizes were awarded,” Dr Faisal Khan said.

A German Shepherd, owned by Maj Lodhi from Sheikhupura, was adjudged the ‘Best Dog’ of the show, while one Labrador was adjudged the ‘Reserve Best’.

Among the puppies, again, it was a German Shepherd from Sheikhupura which clinched the ‘Best Puppy’ prize, while a Rottweiler puppy was adjudged the ‘Reserve Best’.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali also paid a brief visit to the exhibition at around 11am.

Accompanied by Dawn Group of Newspapers’ chief executive Hameed Haroon and director operations Amber Saigol, the prime minister touched almost all the stalls.

The organisers of the show were tired and exhausted as the curtains were drawing on the second day, but a sense of achievement and elation kept their spirits up.

The end to the show seemed more like a new beginning and the residents of the twin cities may be seeing more such events from the Dawn Group of Newspapers.

“We gathered so many companies under one roof to provide a solid platform to the public, enabling them to directly interact with the manufacturers,” Mr Tahir, one of the organizers of the exhibition, said.

“The exhibition also benefited us by providing an opportunity to access common people,” he added. He was optimistic that it would definitely increase Dawn readership in the twin cities because of the overwhelming public response.