What is Dubai like in August? Half the city is still pretending it’s on holiday, while the other half is already buying notebooks and setting alarms for school. So this week, we are staying somewhere in between — with freshly roasted coffee, Spirited Away on the big screen, an exhibition about forgetting, and a Saturday spent listening to vinyl with strangers. Consider this your last little stretch of summer before real life properly starts again.

Where? Kairos Coffee Assembly, Al Quoz Creative Zone

There is a new coffee spot in Al Quoz, and you may smell it before you see it. Kairos Coffee Assembly has just opened with the UAE’s first Bellwether Shop Roaster — a fully electric machine sitting right in the middle of the space, roasting small batches of beans throughout the day.

The coffee gets from roaster to cup in days rather than months, and if you order a V60, settle in: here, pour-over is treated almost like a small ceremony, prepared at a huge circular communal stone table.

Food is made in-house too. Look out for the Twice-Baked Cashew Nut croissant, Eggs on Eggs on Eggs (yes, that is the name!) and warm madeleines with combinations like brown butter, dark chocolate and sea salt.

And because apparently coffee alone wasn't enough, Kairos is also doubling as a small exhibition space. Its first show, What Remains of Faces, features a ceramic mural by Kamal Alzubi made from 30 hand-pressed faces.

Where? Cinema Akil, Alserkal Avenue

Hayao Miyazaki’s classic is back on the big screen at one of our favourite cinemas in Dubai, Cinema Akil, this Wednesday. Chihiro, No-Face, the bathhouse, the train travelling across the water — you know the drill. And if you somehow haven't watched it yet, even better.

The screening starts at 4:45 pm, which also gives you a perfectly reasonable excuse to disappear into Alserkal for the rest of the evening.

Where? XVA Gallery

Oblivion sounds dramatic, but the premise of this summer group show is actually rather comforting: forgetting isn't always about losing something. Sometimes, it is how we make room for whatever comes next.

This summer exhibition brings together works in which familiar things — an armchair, a hairbrush, an object you think you already understand — start slipping away from their usual meanings and becoming something else.

The line-up is big, with works by Nada Debs, Charlie Koolhaas, Mahmoud Hamadani, Ala Dehghan, Morteza Zahedi and many others.

If your brain has reached that particular August stage where it would quite like to delete several tabs, this feels appropriately timed.

Where? Terra, Expo City Dubai

Yes, school is nearly back.

MINT Market is taking over Terra at Expo City this weekend with a two-day Back to School edition — part market, part family day out, and hopefully a gentler transition back into alarm clocks, packed lunches and finding out where somebody left their pencil case.

There will be UAE-based brands to browse, plus workshops, talks and hands-on activities for kids. It runs Saturday and Sunday, August 22–23, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Tickets are AED 50, while children under 12 enter free.

And if you would rather shop without committing to a full family weekend, MINT also has a smaller pop-up at Spinneys in Layan Community on August 27, with fashion, accessories, toys and other local finds.

Where? Lulu’s Bean

Some weekends call for a club. This Saturday calls for sitting around, listening to someone play a record they love and explain exactly why they love it. Where? In Sonic Majlis.

Created by Lulu’s Bean and Vinyl Souk DXB, the series is built around vinyl, conversation and the stories attached to particular records. The first session saw Ahmed Hameed digging through the music that shaped him; now the Majlis returns for its next edition on August 22.