The Higher Organizing Committee of the Emirates International Date Palm Festival (EIDPF) today announced that the programs for the six-day family-centric festival had been significantly expanded to include a remarkable entertainment line-up featuring arts, culture and traditional activities celebrating the super fruit.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nayhan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, the festival will take place from 21-26 November 2011 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Mohamed Jalal Al Reyaysa, Chairman of the Higher Organizing Committee for the Emirates International Date Palm Festival and the Official Spokesperson for Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, said: “We expect that this year’s festival will drive huge interest from exhibitors, professionals and visitors alike, owing to the tremendous success of previous editions and the new and proactive activities planned. Besides, the festival provides a unique platform to exchange and share knowledge and experiences amongst producers, experts and key decision makers at date palm industry.”

The date festival will introduce three new features to the event this year. The first new attraction, Date Planting, will provide visitors with an opportunity to plant their own tree and have their name on it during the festival. After the festival concludes, the trees will be moved to a public location in Abu Dhabi, contributing to its beautiful landscape.

Another new attraction, a designated Cooking Area will be added to the festival. Renowned celebrity chefs will demonstrate to visitors how the delicious flavors of the date can be captured in both modern and traditional recipes.

Lastly, demonstrating the lifestyle and traditions of Emiratis before the oil era will be the Heritage Village. This third new feature will explore many traditional and cultural activities consisting of dancing, reciting poems, handicrafts and much more.

Qaboos Khalid, Event Director of the festival, Turret Media, said: “Last year, Emirates International Date Palm Festival was a great success. This year we want to exceed expectations by adding more fun and exciting features to entertain absolutely everyone. The new activities at the festival add to the event’s credibility and also that the event is consistently growing. These new interactive elements are of great importance, especially for children, as theyensure continuity in instilling cultural values between successive generations.”

Returning this year is the Date Palm Theatre, one of last year’s biggest hits. It will provide a stage for students to showcase their talents to audiences through plays, traditional performances and competitions during the morning and afternoon.

The Kids Zone will enable children to participate in face painting and competitions, learn about dates fruit, milk, and other foods, have their pictures taken at the novelty camel board, and come away with a goody bag, among other exciting things.

Adding to the excitement and the spirit of competition will be the Date Tree Climbing competition. Held under required safety standards, visitors will be able to learn how dates were collected in the past, and compete daily throughout the event to become the UAE’s fastest Date Tree Climber.

Photographers will have a chance to win prizes with the Palm Photo Competition. Those who wish to participate can upload photographs of various features of the Date Palm on the website.

Visitors will able to taste from 25 different varieties of date fruits from across the world at the designated Date Tasting Area. This section is specifically designed to highlight the significant global reach this delicious fruit has, and appreciate its universal popularity.

The date festival will cover an area of two exhibition halls at ADNEC. More than 90 per cent of the date producers who participated last year will return this year. The festival will showcase the product offerings of 200 exhibitors from 17 countries and over 17,000 visitors are expected to attend this exhibition.

Tickets to the festival will be on sale at www.boxofficeme.comand will be priced at AED 10 for all visitors.
 

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