Festival of Cake & The Cake Picnic Dubai arrives at Expo City Dubai as a brand new winter headline for dessert lovers and families. Running from Friday 28 November to Tuesday 2 December 2025, the festival brings together celebrity pastry chefs, live shows and thousands of desserts under the Al Wasl Plaza dome. Organisers describe it as the region’s first dedicated cake festival, with programming that blends masterclasses, competitions and playful installations designed for all ages. At the same time, the Cake Picnic concept makes its UAE debut, inviting visitors to bring their own bakes for a communal celebration on Tuesday 2 December. Throughout the five days, Al Wasl Plaza turns into a colourful hub of food, music and workshops from late afternoon until midnight. The key idea is simple but powerful – gather Dubai’s community around cakes, creativity and shared experiences in one landmark location.
Dates, timings and daily schedule
Festival of Cake runs for five consecutive days from Friday 28 November 2025 to Tuesday 2 December 2025 at Al Wasl Plaza, Expo City Dubai. Official programming starts at 4:00 pm each day and continues until around 12:00 am, which gives visitors plenty of time to browse stalls, watch shows and enjoy workshops after work or school. Friday 28 November, Saturday 29 November and Sunday 30 November are likely to feel busiest, especially between 6:00 pm and 10:00 pm when live shows peak. Monday 1 December and Tuesday 2 December usually offer slightly more relaxed crowds, although the Cake Picnic on Tuesday evening will attract its own dedicated audience. Because the festival runs daily from 4:00 pm to midnight, you can choose either an early family visit or a later, more social evening slot.
Ticket prices, entry options and inclusions
Ticketing partners currently list Festival of Cake & The Cake Picnic Dubai with entry prices starting from around 40 AED, making it accessible compared with many large-scale food festivals. Meanwhile, Dubai’s official events calendar highlights a general entry price of approximately 75 AED per person, which suggests that exact pricing depends on date, category and possible early bird offers. General entry usually includes access to the main festival grounds, the live stages, many of the demos and several free experiences such as certain tastings and entertainment zones. Some premium elements, like the Cake Picnic and specific creative workshops, sit outside general entry and follow separate pricing. In practical terms, most visitors should plan a budget starting from approximately 75 AED per person for standard entry, plus any extras they want to book on top.
Festival highlights, stages and celebrity chefs
Programming information showcases an ambitious line-up: five days, three main stages, more than one hundred live shows and over one thousand desserts to discover. In addition, organisers confirm at least twenty five celebrity chefs and well known bakers appearing across the Sprinkles Stage, Sweet Creations Stage and Brew Stage. Names promoted in advance include TV and media figures such as Anna Olson and acclaimed pastry specialists like Markus Bohr, Claire Clark and others, alongside regional favourites. Visitors can watch high energy demos, join more technical masterclasses or simply sit back and enjoy chef conversations about flavour trends and cake design. The combination of headline chefs, interactive talks and live baking gives the festival a genuine industry-meets-community atmosphere rather than feeling like a simple tasting event.
Activities for families, kids and Instagram fans
Beyond the stages, Festival of Cake layers on many hands-on activities that suit different age groups and interests. Families will notice the Kids Workshops, where younger visitors decorate their own cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles before taking them home. Teenagers and adults looking for playful photo opportunities can head to Dara’s Ice-Cream Giant Sprinkles Pool, a colourful pit designed for fun, posing and social media moments. At various times, the site also features live music, DJ sets and a buzzing “Sugar Rush Bar” area, so the atmosphere feels lively without losing its family-friendly balance. Overall, the wider festival space suits (children/family-friendly) visits earlier in the evening, while later times tilt a little more towards groups of friends and couples.
The Original Cake Picnic on Tuesday 2 December
The Cake Picnic experience, branded as “the original Cake Picnic,” lands in the UAE for the first time as part of this festival. This special activation takes place on Tuesday 2 December 2025 at Al Wasl Plaza from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, essentially creating a two hour shared picnic focused entirely on cake. The key rule is memorable and strict: “No cake, no entry,” because guests must bring their own homemade or specially chosen cake to join the communal table. Tickets for Cake Picnic itself are currently listed at around 150 AED per person, separate from general Festival of Cake entry. Because of its focused concept and ticket price, Cake Picnic suits adults, older teens and committed baking fans, and is best described as suitable for couples, small groups and solo enthusiasts rather than very young children.
Workshops, talks and experiences included with general entry
General entry gives access to a wide range of structured activities, which can easily fill several hours each day. Guests can drop into the Sweet Creations Stage for free demos and masterclasses that cover techniques from simple sponge upgrades to intricate showpiece decorating, depending on the time slot. On the Brew Stage, coffee lovers can attend matcha workshops, latte art demonstrations and talks on sourcing, roasting and sustainability, all included within the entry price. There are also Cake Talks and panel discussions where entrepreneurs and bakers share business insights, making the festival appealing to professionals and hobbyists who want inspiration beyond recipes. For many visitors, these free-with-entry sessions offer the best value, especially for solo attendees who prefer learning-focused experiences over constant eating.
Who will enjoy the festival most
Festival of Cake positions itself as a hybrid between a food festival, a learning platform and a family day out, so it attracts several kinds of visitor. During the earlier hours each afternoon, parents with children will likely appreciate the quieter atmosphere, the kids’ decorating workshops and the playful installations, which clearly suit (children/family-friendly) trips. In the early evening, groups of friends and colleagues can combine tastings with talks, then linger at the Sugar Rush Bar or near the live music stages (suitable for couples, groups, solo). Later at night, the dome projections, DJ sets and glowing installations create a social, slightly more adult vibe while still remaining inclusive. Food enthusiasts, baking students, creative professionals and anyone looking for a visually rich, sweet-focused evening will probably find the festival particularly rewarding.
Getting to Expo City Dubai from Dubai and beyond
Expo City Dubai sits near Dubai South, close to the junctions of major highways such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road, so drivers from within Dubai usually reach it in around thirty to forty minutes depending on the starting district. The site connects directly to the Dubai Metro Route 2020 line at Expo 2020 station, which offers a reliable option for those who prefer to avoid parking and traffic around big events. Visitors from Abu Dhabi can follow E11 or E311 towards Dubai and then take the Expo City exits, with typical journey times of one and a half hours or more, so leaving before the peak evening build-up is important. Guests travelling from Sharjah, Ajman or Ras Al Khaimah should plan generous buffer time to navigate city traffic before joining the southern highways, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings. Because festival timings stretch until midnight, many guests from other emirates choose either to drive home later at night when roads quieten or to book a nearby hotel, which can be more comfortable after long days in busy crowds.
Traffic, parking patterns and best times to visit
Expo City’s road network can handle large numbers of vehicles, yet traffic still builds up at key arrival peaks, particularly on weekend evenings between 5:30 pm and 8:30 pm. Large-scale seasonal programming like Winter City and Al Wasl Season often runs alongside the Festival of Cake, which means multiple events may share the same car parks and access roads. Public parking areas usually remain well organised, but arriving close to sunset often creates queues at both entry gates and pedestrian routes into Al Wasl Plaza. Therefore, visitors who want a calmer experience should consider reaching the site around 4:00 pm to 4:30 pm, then staying through the transition into evening lights and shows. Drivers should remember that parking capacity is limited at the closest zones, so using the metro, taxis or ride-hailing from central Dubai can significantly reduce stress, especially on Friday and Saturday.
Weather, clothing, transport tips and closing warnings
For the Festival of Cake period, forecasts for Friday 28 November, Saturday 29 November and Sunday 30 November 2025 point to hazy sunshine with daytime highs around 28–29 degrees Celsius and evening lows near 19–21 degrees, with no meaningful rain or storm warnings. Because the festival opens at 4:00 pm and runs into the night, visitors will likely enjoy warm but comfortable temperatures on the plaza, with slightly cooler breezes later in the evening. Light, breathable clothing with comfortable shoes works best, and adding a thin layer like a cardigan or shawl helps if you plan to sit under the air-conditioned indoor areas after dark. Traffic around Expo City is heaviest during early evening arrival windows; meanwhile, the Dubai Metro Route 2020 line and plentiful taxis give strong alternatives to driving into peak congestion. Ticket prices and special experiences like Cake Picnic, masterclasses or Cake Canvas Café sessions may change as programming develops, so any price here should be treated as approximately, not fixed. To get the most from Festival of Cake & The Cake Picnic Dubai, try to book tickets early, arrive before the busiest evening rush, and balance sweet indulgence with a smart transport plan that suits your family or group. According to updates often highlighted by editors at www.few.ae, this new festival is shaping up as one of the most photogenic and family-friendly winter outings in the city, especially for visitors who plan ahead and match their visit time to their preferred crowd level.
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