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AlUla Wellness Festival Unveils Array of Innovative Nature-Centric Activities

AlUla Moments has unveiled new insights to enhance visitor engagement and foster their connection with nature in AlUla during the 3rd edition of AlUla Wellness Festival.
AlUla Moments has unveiled new insights to enhance visitor engagement and foster their connection with nature in AlUla during the 3rd edition of AlUla Wellness Festival.
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AlUla Wellness Festival Unveils Array of Innovative Nature-Centric Activities

AlUla Moments has unveiled new insights to enhance visitor engagement and foster their connection with nature in AlUla during the 3rd edition of AlUla Wellness Festival.
AlUla Moments has unveiled new insights to enhance visitor engagement and foster their connection with nature in AlUla during the 3rd edition of AlUla Wellness Festival.

AlUla Moments has unveiled new insights to enhance visitor engagement and foster their connection with nature in AlUla during the 3rd edition of AlUla Wellness Festival, scheduled from October 19 to November 4, said SPA on Sunday.
The festival will include new activities: The Heritage Restoration Experience, Reviving Nature Experience, and Eco-Gardening. There are also other offers, such as the Silent Hike, that allow visitors to connect with the silence of the natural deserts and canyons of AlUla.
The activities are designed to help attendees establish a meaningful connection between the human mind and soul with the wonders of nature through a collection of mind, body, and soul-revitalizing activities, providing the chance to interact with wellness enthusiasts, yoga practitioners, and meditation experts.
Rami Al-Moallim, Vice President, Destination Management and Marketing at the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), said: "Celebrating the beauty of the natural wonders of AlUla at this edition of Wellness Festival is not just about finding wellness in ourselves, but also in the world around us. Nature, with its timeless serenity, serves as our greatest wellness partner.”
Below are the top activities to connect with nature during the festival: Heritage Restoration Experience (Date: October 19 to November 30). The Heritage Restoration, as the name implies, offers visitors a unique opportunity to engage with AlUla's cultural heritage by delving into the art of mudbrick house construction. This hands-on experience allows participants to learn about and actively participate in the creation of these traditional structures.
This event is suitable for those who are interested in engaging with the history of AlUla, and would like to leave a lasting impact during their time in AlUla. The ticket price is inclusive of a welcome drink, continued refreshments throughout the experience, necessary vests and PPE to be worn during the construction process, and a souvenir to take home.
Reviving Nature Experience (Date: October 19 to November 30). An immersive journey that allows visitors to learn about circular design whilst working with palm fronds from AlUla's farms. Participants will actively engage in weaving individual petals by hand, which will then be placed on our monumental sculpture named “Tanafaas” (In Arabic means: Breath). This experience shares the importance of a collective vision towards sustainability, promoting environmental consciousness, and fostering a connection to nature.
The Reviving Nature Experience combines creativity, education, and community to bring to life a sculpture which will stand as an example of how everyone has a role to play as an individual, which comes together to collectively make an impact!
The ticket price is inclusive of a 70-minute weaving workshop, a 10-minute natural dyes workshop, a welcome drink, continued refreshments throughout the experience, necessary aprons and PPE to be worn during the event, and a souvenir for each attendee to take home. The total duration will be 2 hours including the welcome orientation.
Eco Gardening (Date: Oct 20, 2023 - Mar 06, 2024). Exploring the rich agricultural and floral heritage of AlUla's Oasis through Eco Gardening within the AlUla Wellness Festival. Guests are invited to immerse themselves in the vibrant Oasis environment through an eco-gardening experience.
It's a chance to connect with the local farmers and meet the animals they care for, providing a deeper understanding of this unique ecosystem. This event is free to attend however spaces must be booked via experiencealula.com.
The Silent Hike (Tuesdays, Thursdays & Saturdays, depart 8 am, return 11:30 am).The Silent Hike offers an unforgettable opportunity for visitors—a journey through the Hidden Valley in the Arabian Desert. This 4 km hike provides a chance to disconnect from technology, engage in reflection, meditation, and savor the breathtaking natural splendor of AlUla. The experience culminates with a refreshing cold towel and revitalizing beverages.
Moreover, the popular Sanctuary Five experience is making a comeback, offering a holistic health journey involving yoga and salt room therapy. Visitors can engage in a diverse range of activities and workshops, all aimed at promoting relaxation and inner harmony.
For more information about the AlUla Wellness Festival 2023 and ticket details, please visit the website www.experiencealula.com.

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This Summer at the Movies, Superheroes, from ‘Superman’ to ‘Fantastic Four,’ Return

This image released by Warner Bros.Pictures shows David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros.Pictures shows David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
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This Summer at the Movies, Superheroes, from ‘Superman’ to ‘Fantastic Four,’ Return

This image released by Warner Bros.Pictures shows David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros.Pictures shows David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Superman already has a lot on his broad shoulders. It seems unfair to add the fate of Hollywood to his worries.

But that’s the kind of pressure that comes with being one of the biggest stars in the comic book universe, who is getting a grand reintroduction at a tumultuous time. Thankfully he’s not doing it alone — Marvel Studios is also returning to theaters in a big way with two movies this summer, “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.”

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic brought movie business to a halt, and two years after the strikes, the industry has yet to fully recover. Critics may have complained of superhero fatigue, but after several summers of depleted offerings, it’s clear that they're a vital part of the mix — especially when they're good.

The $4 billion summer of “Barbenheimer” may be most remembered for those two movies, but it didn’t get to that number without the “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Spider-Man” movies, the second- and third-highest grossing of the season.

The filmmakers behind some of the summer's biggest movies spoke to The Associated Press about what to expect in 2025.

Summer Movie Math

Summer begins early in Hollywood, on the first weekend in May. Kids might still be in school, and pools might still be closed, but that kickoff can make or break that pivotal 123-day corridor that has historically accounted for around 40% of the annual box office. Last year was the first in many that didn’t launch with a Marvel movie and it showed — the business limped along for weeks until Disney came to the rescue with “Inside Out 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

This year, the powerful studio is back in that familiar spot with “Thunderbolts,” which brings together misfits and antiheroes like Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

“It’s a fun twist on what a movie like this could be,” said director Jake Schreier. “There are some places we’re gonna go that are different from what you would normally expect.”

He added: “It’s trying to be a movie about something and the moment we’re in — not in a political sense, but just where everybody’s at and what everyone’s been going through.”

The Memorial Day weekend could also be a behemoth a few weeks later with the live action “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” storming theaters. With a new “Jurassic World,” a live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” and a Formula One movie also on the schedule through June and July, the summer 2025 season has the potential to be the biggest in the post-COVID era.

Before the pandemic, all but one summer since 2007 broke the $4 billion mark. Since 2020, only one has: 2023, led by “Barbie.”

Saving Superman (and the DC Universe)

After three “Guardians” movies, James Gunn knows enough to know that he doesn’t have much control over whether people buy tickets for his movies. His job is to make something good, entertaining and “worthy” of the audience.

But that’s also possibly underplaying the pressure of taking on Superman and overseeing a unified DC universe that kicks off with “Superman” on July 11. He considers it the first true superhero movie he’s ever made.

“It’s a personal journey for Superman that’s entirely new,” Gunn said. “It is, first and foremost, about what does Superman learn about himself. But it’s also about the robots and the flying dogs and all that stuff. It’s taking a very real person and putting them in the middle of this outrageous situation and outrageous world and playing with that. I think it’s a lot of fun because of that.”

The film introduces a new actor to the role of Superman/Clark Kent in David Corenswet, who stars alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Gunn said to expect different things from both.

“It was a lot of fun making a Lex that is actually going to kill Superman,” he said. “He’s pretty scary.”

The film is also “seeding the rest of the DCU,” Gunn said. “If it works as a movie in a basic way, that’s what we need to happen, that’s what I care about.”

Superman as a brand has always trailed Batman at the box office. None of the Zack Snyder films crossed $1 billion, not accounting for inflation, while both Christopher Nolan “Dark Knight” sequels did. But Gunn isn't thinking a lot about that.

“I just want to make a decent movie that makes a little money,” Gunn said.

Marvel’s First Family

Superman’s not the only legacy brand getting a splashy reintroduction this summer. A new Fantastic Four crew, assembled for the first time under umbrella of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Kevin Feige, is heading to theaters July 25.

“Fantastic Four is a comic I’ve loved since I was a kid,” said director Matt Shakman. “They are the legendary heroes of the '60s that the Marvel silver age was built on.”

Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, The Fantastic Four is among Marvel’s longest-running comics series. But it has not had the most distinguished history on film, including two with Chris Evans and one with Michael B. Jordan.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s New York, where Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards is “basically Steve Jobs meets Einstein who’s creating technology that’s changing the world” and Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm is “essentially the secretary-general of the UN,” Shakman said.

A television veteran with directing credits on shows like “WandaVision” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Shakman said he wants to do right by the characters, and audience.

“It’s working on an incredibly large scale in terms of world building, but it’s also no different from all of the great comedies and dramas that I’ve done,” Shakman said. “In the end, it comes down to character, it comes down to relationships, it comes down to heart and humor.”

Plus, he feels a responsibility to the idea of the big summer movie.

“It was the joy of my childhood. ... A lot of it has to do with building worlds and entering into a place of wonder,” he said. “That’s what I felt when I saw ‘Indiana Jones’ when I was a kid and it’s what I hope people feel when they see ‘Fantastic Four’ this summer.”

Why summer 2025 might be a big year for movies

Studios know that superheroes alone don’t make a robust theatrical marketplace and there are plenty of other options on the menu including franchises, event movies and independents: There are family pics (“Smurfs,” “Elio,” “The Bad Guys 2”); action and adventures (“Ballerina,” “The Karate Kid: Legends”); horrors, thrillers and slashers (“28 Years Later,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “M3GAN 2.0”); romances (“Materialists,” “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life”); dramas (“Sorry, Baby,” “The Life of Chuck”); a new Wes Anderson movie (“The Phoenician Scheme”); and comedies (“Freakier Friday,” “Bride Hard,” “The Naked Gun”) — though one of the most anticipated, “Happy Gilmore 2,” will be on Netflix.

“The frequency of movies, the cadence, the sheer number of them and the perceived quality and excitement surrounding this lineup is like almost like never before,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Draw me a blueprint of a perfect summer lineup: 2025 is it.”

One of the biggest movies of the season may be “Jurassic World Rebirth,” the seventh movie in a $6 billion franchise. Even its poorly received predecessor made $1 billion. This time they enlisted a new filmmaker, self-proclaimed “Jurassic Park” superfan Gareth Edwards, and the original’s screenwriter for a new adventure with Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey.

“People say, like, do you feel pressure and the most pressure I feel is from myself as a fan and to Steven Spielberg, to not disappoint him,” Edwards said. “Weirdly what’s great about doing a ‘Jurassic’ movie is that everybody knows deep down that like half the reason they’re in this business is because of that film and Steven’s work.”

It’s fitting, in a way, that 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of what’s considered the first summer blockbuster: “Jaws.”

Edwards said he was born into that world of big summer blockbusters that shaped his early love of movies. Directing one, he said, “is kind of the dream. You get the chance to swing for the fences.”

And the unstable economy might work in the industry’s favor, at least when it comes to moviegoing. Even with increased ticket prices, theatrical movies remain the most affordable entertainment outside of the home and attendance tends to increase during recession years. The annual domestic box office crossed $10 billion for the first time in 2009.

More recently, the week the tariffs were announced, “A Minecraft Movie” doubled its opening weekend projections, and all of those ticket buyers saw trailers and posters for everything to come. It was, Dergarabedian noted, one of the only positive financial stories that week.

“Top Gun: Maverick” filmmaker Joseph Kosinski knows a few things about launching a pricey big screen spectacle into a turbulent marketplace. But he's feeling good about the summer and “F1’s” place within it. Warner Bros. will release “F1” on June 27.

“This is the summer where all this product that we’ve all been working on for the last few years is finally coming into the marketplace, so I’m very optimistic,” Kosinski said. “By the end of this summer, hopefully people aren’t talking about being in a funk anymore and it feels like we got our mojo back and we’re off to the races.”