Abu Dhabi: If you love dates, then the Liwa Date Festival is just the place to visit this weekend, as the festival offers visitors the opportunity to experience the rich traditional Bedouin lifestyle of Emirati generations gone by.
While the date is the obvious central piece of the festival, with the fruit brought fresh to the festival everyday from local farms, visitors can enjoy several different activities other than just eating all different types of dates.
Now in its 14th year, the date festival takes place in Liwa in Al Dhafra Region of Abu Dhabi, with the event becoming a key attraction for the area. Located in the south of the country, visitors coming from places like Abu Dhabi City, Dubai and Sharjah can expect a long car journey, but one that is well worth it when they arrive as they get the chance to explore an area different from what they’re used to in the big cities.
While places like Abu Dhabi and Dubai are known for their big skyscrapers and shopping malls, Liwa offers a more down-to-earth experience, offering visitors the chance to view lush green farmland filled with palm trees along with the unforgiving desert and its perfectly shaped sand dunes. The simplicity of Liwa and its environment is the closest visitors will be able to get when trying to experience the past of how Emiratis lived.
At the festival itself, visitors will also get the chance to get up close with the Bedouin lifestyle, with the market containing dozens of traditional Emirati shops that sell locally made handicraft and clothes.
Many of the products are also made from palm tree material, with the handicrafts all made in the same way they were made centuries back. Visitors can visit from shop to shop as they watch Emiratis produce and show them just how they make their handicrafts.
It can’t be a proper date festival if there are no date competitions and, just like every year, the Liwa Date Festival holds its daily competitions with cash prizes totalling Dh6 million.
The competitions, which also include categories such as best dates, best lemons, best mangoes and best farms, attract thousands of competitors each year, all of whom bring their best made and designed fruits with the hope of scooping up the grand prizes.
And while the cash prizes are big, the competitions are mainly organised to further raise the standards of farms and locally produced dates in the country.
The Liwa Date Festival makes sure to cater to everyone and this includes children, with the festival organising its dedicated kids village. The village gives children a unique opportunity to learn about the historical significance of the date palm tree in Emirati culture, but all in a fun way. The kids village organises theatre performances, story telling, art workshops and several cultural activities to keep children entertained throughout the festival.
Liwa Date Festival
Where: Liwa, Al Dhafra Region
When: July 18-28
Timings: Daily 4pm-10pm
