Tag Archives: festival
320 Airport Road Franklin NC Real Estate for Sale
For pricing, photos and more information go here: http://tinyurl.com/320AirportRd 320 Airport Road Franklin NC Real Estate for Sale Amazing 8 acres with larg… Continue reading
Liwa Dates Festival kicks off today
Liwa Dates Festival kicks off today Silvia Radan (silvia@khaleejtimes.com) / 18 July 2013 The ninth Liwa Dates Festival kicks off today in Mazeirah, the main town of Liwa oasis. In the morning, judges will be visiting the first competitors’ farms and inspecting their palm trees, while in the evening, from 8pm, the doors of the air conditioned tent will open to the public with the winners of the first round announced on Friday. This will be the format of this year’s festival, which, for the first time, falls during Ramadan. After Iftar and until 1am, visitors will get to sample the competing ratab (fresh, half-ripen dates), enjoy traditional shows, kids’ competitions, have a look at the exhibition featuring organisations representing dates and farming in general, and enjoy a bit of shopping in the Emirati souk. The dates competition itself, as well as the mango and lemon one will give away prizes totalling Dh5 million to the top 15 winners in each category, which include seven different varieties of dates. Since the festival falls during the holy month of Ramadan, a special atmosphere is expected, which will largely be created by the traditional souk. The 160 shops, which will financially benefit 306 Emirati families, will give an insight into the lives and traditions of this land’s ancestors. “The traditional market is a special event that reveals before the curious eyes of interested tourists our local heritage, which is rich in handicrafts related to the palm tree and dates. The visitors will find in the souk a model of the flourishing oasis decorated with palm leaves that are meticulously woven. They will have a chance to discover all products related to the lives of simple Bedouin families, such as Al Sadu — a traditional form of weaving — and knitting,” explained Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, director of the festival. Al Surood (a round mat made of palm leaves), Al Mukhrafa and Al Jahfeer (two baskets made of palm leaves), floor mats, Al Meshab (a table-mat made of palm leaves), Al Yrab (a large bag made of palm leaves and used to conserve dry dates), along with pastries made of dates and all varieties of ratab will be up for sale. “The market includes a number of majlis — traditional meeting places — that will be shared by women artisans to display their products. This will give visitors the opportunity to discover the splendour of the traditional products made by a group of Emirati mothers,” said Al Mazrouei. The majlis area is also an opportunity for younger girls to learn the art of handicraft making from their elders. The festival will continue until July 25. Buses from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to the festival grounds are available. Continue reading
Liwa Dates Festival to open at night
Liwa Dates Festival to open at night Silvia Radan / 4 July 2013 For the first time in nine years, the Liwa Dates Festival will take place during the holy month of Ramadan, from July 18 to 25, in the Western Region desert oasis of Liwa. Although the festival’s opening hours will be at night, from 8pm to 1am, the organisers do not think there will be a drop in participants or visitors. “The Liwa Dates Festival always takes place in the summer, when the ratab dates are in season. We cannot postpone the festival because of Ramadan. Besides, we work during the holy month, so the evaluation of the date farms will take place during the day, while the festival’s activities are scheduled in the evening,” explained Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, chairman of the Higher Organising Committee of the festival and the Culture and Heritage advisor to the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court. Last year, 1,500 participants were registered with the festival and over the past eight seasons nearly 70,000 people came to see the Liwa Dates Festival. As usual, buses will be provided for visitors from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to the festival, which will take place in an air-conditioned massive tent. All the old favourites are back this year, including traditional Emirati folklore, cooking competition, a kids’ tent and the popular date palm farmers’ souk with 120 shops being set up. As for the competitions, there are seven different dates categories, each awarding cash prizes to the top 15 contestants, as well as a mango and a lemon competition, each with prizes for the top 10 winners. Altogether, the festival is giving away this year Dh 5 million in prizes. “The competition is open to any UAE farmer, although we tend to have most of our competitors from Al Gharbia and Al Ain,” pointed out Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, director of the festival. According to him, the festival cannot be extended to the Arabian Gulf simply because the ratab — the fresh, half ripe dates — season starts from east to west. Omani dates, for example, are the first to ripe, while certain Saudi varieties ripen only in September.In the UAE, the ratab season lasts for about a month, depending on the type of dates. The festival is not just a celebration of the dates harvesting, but a good business, as well. “We help the date palm farmers not just with awards, but also facilitate meetings with distributors, manufacturers and other businesses related to date palm trees,” Obaid Al Mazrouei told Khaleej Times. “The date production quality has also improved. In 2009 for example, it was very easy for us to pick the competition winners, while now over 20 people fight for the first place,” he pointed out. The full programme of the festival is available on http://www.liwadatesfestival.ae/ . silvia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
