We’re halfway through the summer as of today but there’s plenty on the calendar until September. Summers can be expensive with all the visitors, weddings, and beach entrance fees. But if you’re looking for a way to have some fun while still doing some good, put your money towards a cause and check out the below:

MONDAY JULY 18th
17th Kunhadi Taxi Night
Seven Sisters, Beirut Waterfront

Kunhadi, an NGO that promotes road safety and combats drunk driving, has been doing these parties for quite a while. This time, in partnership with Pepsi, Kunhadi is hosting its 17th Taxi Night at the hip open-air Seven Sisters at the Beirut Waterfront. As the tradition goes, you are not allowed to drive to Taxi Night and the ticket price covers the round-trip to & from your house. Given the horrendous traffic jams out there, I would gladly fork over the money for that peace of mind alone. Tickets are being sold at Malik’s but hurry up because you’ll need to book your rides 48 hours in advance to avoid delays.
Sponsors: Diageo, Zaatar w Zeit

WEDNESDAY JULY 20th
ZWL Documentary Screening
Metropolis Sofil, Ashrafieh

The documentary “A Zero Waste Lebanon” will be showing at Metropolis followed by an interactive sharing session. It’s free entrance but you need to get there early to snag good seats since it’s first-come, first-serve. The documentary, stemming from garbage superhero Ziad Abi Chaker, tackles our lovely trash crisis and presents a simple solution that can be implemented. Go watch, participate, and volunteer your braincells so we can get this country on track.

THURS JULY 21- SAT JULY 23rd
Karama Beirut Human Rights Film Festival
Metropolis Sofil, Ashrafieh

This film festival focuses on films that put human rights issues (just to name a few: child abuse and exploitation, workers and unemployed rights, mental health and social care, HIV/AIDS, LGBT rights, human trafficking) at the forefront of their story lines. The festival includes a seminar titled “The Others” and tackles racism & the refugee crisis in Lebanon. Entrance is free and you can check out the program here.

TUESDAY JULY 26th
Embrace the MYUsic
MYU, Dora Seaside Road

This fundraiser is for Embrace, a group working towards establishing the first Emotional Crisis and Suicide Prevention Helpline in Lebanon. I’ll be writing a full post on this initiative in the next few days so stay tuned but in short, it’s a hotline for those who need help and can’t find any when they need it most. Suicide is more prevalent here than we’d like to believe making it all the more necessary to get this up and running. Tickets can be purchased from Virgin (stores or online).

SUNDAY AUG 21st
City Picnic Beirut
Beirut Hippodrome

You can’t bring your own food and drinks so it’s not exactly the definition of a picnic but who wants to haul a cooler full of melted ice from the car anyway. This isn’t directly for a charity, NGO, or fundraiser but it is in support of our green spaces. It’s important to show our municipalities and officials that the people make use of these properties and that they can also be used for commercial purposes. I know that being outdoors in August isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but there will be food, drinks, and shade. It’s pet-friendly too. Tickets are sold at the door for $10, $5 for kids.

City Picnic is in partnership with Virgin Radio Lebanon.
Sponsors: Dolly’s, XXL Vodka Mix – LB, Mike Sport, Trident , LBCI Lebanon and Grand Cinemas Lebanon