100 Exhibitors And 4 National Pavilions For The First Time At The Fourth International Date Palm Festival

With its exciting entertainment line-up, the festival will feature 200 exotic varieties of dates from around the world in Abu Dhabi

The long-awaited Fourth International Date Palm Festival is all set to kick off tomorrow, transforming Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre into a palm oasis with more than 100 exhibitors, four national pavilions, and seven incredible featured events never held before in the region.

To be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and the Chairman of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the six-day long event is organized by Turret Media and supported by United Arab Emirates University, Khalifa International Date Palm Award, Date Palm Friends Society and Date Palm Global Network with the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority as the strategic partner.

“This year the festival will encompass over 5600 square metre of exhibition space,” said Qaboos Khalid, Director of the Festival, Turret Media – organizer of the event. “Over 100 exhibitors and four national pavilions from Oman, Iraq, Jordan and Morocco will join forces to stage a remarkable display of the date varieties and provide additional opportunity for market growth in food services at international level. We have received tremendous support from the Abu Dhabi Government as the event celebrates the traditional value of the date palm tree, which is beloved by our rulers. Our aim is to grow with this exhibition for the next edition and bring in more pavilions, especially from Europe.”

Al Foah Company, well-known for producing the best quality of dates on both local and international levels, will be exhibiting new varieties of innovative date based products for the first time at the Date Palm Festival. Engineer Saeed Salem Mesarri Al Hamli, General Manager of Al Foah Company, said “Al Foah’s participation comes in line with Abu Dhabi government’s strategy that focuses on enhancing the date palm sector in the country and making Al Foah a global ambassador for Emarati dates and one of the leading government companies that contribute to the development of this sector. Moreover, Al Foah will showcase at the exhibition some of the best Emarati date products that are produced by local farms, and it will help open channels of communication between the producers and the manufacturers of dates.”

“The festival shows an increase in turnout of the number of participants whether at the level of states or at the level of the individuals,” said Dr. Abdelouahhab Zaid, Head of the Organizing Committee, Director and Chief Technical Advisor of Date Palm Research Unit Dept. UAE University, and Secretary General of Khalifa International Date Palm Award.

“This indicates the confidence that UAE enjoys at the international level in hosting major international specialized exhibitions and conferences.”

The six-day family-centric festival, now in its fourth year, has been significantly expanded by its organizers with an awesome entertainment line-up to foster the enlightenment of the culture and heritage.

The Festival Gallery features 25 selected photographs from the cultural photography competition. At the Chefs’ Theatre, visitors will have a unique chance to see celebrity chefs cooking 6 winning date recipes from the cooking competition. What is happening with the Chefs’ Theatre?

The Date Palm Oasis, organized by the Community of Nutrition Department at Al Tawaam Hospital, gives the traditional look and feel of an oasis, surrounded by exuberant date palm trees. The Kids Zone offers a variety of activities to leave children spoilt for choice, such as creative art, school visits, face painting, mud sculpting and personalised photography. Another star feature is the Date Tree Climbing, an exciting recreational activity for the children, to be organized under supervised surroundings to ensure the safety of the climber. The Date Theatre Area of the festival will see around 12 schools setting a lively mix of competitions, lectures and specialized film shows.

Apart from the Date Tasting Area, Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage will stage an elite selection of cultural performances related to dance, music and folk traditions which are so expressive of the character and history of its people.

“The festival sets a major milestone in the cultural history of Abu Dhabi. We invite everybody to visit the festival and enjoy a wide range of attractions, many of which are new in the UAE,” Qaboos Khalid said.

The festival is sponsored by Department of Municipal Affairs and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

The festival also coincides with the regional debut of the world’s largest food industry event SIAL Middle East, which will bring together 30 date companies and host date trade buyers for the first time in the world.
 

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