The Organising Committee of the “Al Dhaid Date Festival 2024” has finalised all preparations to launch the 8th edition of the highly anticipated event, which will take place from July 25 to 28 at Expo Al Dhaid

Organised by Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), the festival will feature extensive participation from palm farmers and date enthusiasts from across the UAE.

This year’s festival will introduce a new date competition for children called "Ratb Al Kharaif Beauty," making its debut in the UAE. This contest joins other main competitions lined up for the participating farmers, such as “The Most Beautiful Home-grown Dates” (only for women), "Best Lemons”, and "Fig Contest”. The 8th edition also marks the debut of the "Rare Dates" competition that is dedicated to agricultural areas in Al Dhaid and the eastern and northern regions.

The festival is expected to see intense competition for valuable prizes that will be awarded to 130 winners across various categories. These awards will provide a strong incentive for the participating farmers to enhance the quality of their local date products.

The 2024 edition of the festival will also feature a range of economic and commercial events and activities, performances by folklore bands, competitions and various cultural programmes to promote knowledge about palm trees and their different varieties and types.

Mohammad Musabah Al Tunaiji, General Coordinator of Al Dhaid Date Festival, affirmed that this year’s festival includes several innovative competitions and valuable prizes aimed at encouraging palm farm owners to promote their date cultivation.

He noted that the eighth edition introduces a new competition for children, designed to deepen their engagement with the UAE’s cultural heritage and encourage them to promote the preservation and cultivation of date palm trees. The festival has been instrumental over the years in reinforcing the country’s heritage and national identity.

Al-Tunaiji added that this year’s festival has recorded an increase in the number of participants, which is a positive indicator reinforcing the event's success. This growth underscores the festival's prominent position as a distinguished platform that brings together a significant number of palm owners, farmers, industry professionals, and traders from around the UAE.

The festival plays a vital role in raising the quality of local date products and enhancing the investment returns of palm cultivation and related industries.

The Organising Committee of the festival has set a few general conditions and specific terms for participation in the event’s competitions. These include using locally produced dates for the 2024 season that are only grown in the participants' own farms. Applicants must also provide specific documents proving ownership of agricultural land when they register and visit the selected farms as outlined in the application form.

Contestants cannot take part in more than two categories of dates’ Individual Varieties in the festival’s competitions, but they are entitled to participate in the “General Elite Dates” and “Rare Dates” categories. The dates should also be presented in high-quality baskets without any hangers.

The Organising Committee has outlined specific participation criteria for “Ratb Al Kharaif Beauty” competition, dedicated to male children, aged 7 to 15, from the Central Region of the Emirate of Sharjah. The dates must be locally produced in the 2024 season and of the Al-Kharaif date variety, with a minimum weight of 3 kilograms.

Participants are required to present dates sourced from their family farm or home garden and submit them personally while wearing the national dress. They must also provide personal identification documents during registration.

The festival will commence on July 25th with the “Khneizi Dates Beauty Contest” and the “Women's Makhrafa Dates Beauty Contest”, to be followed by the “Al-Khalas Dates Beauty Contest” and the “Red Fig” Competition the next day. On July 27th, the festival will host the “Shishi Dates” and “Local Lemon” Beauty Contests, along with the “Ratb Al Kharaif Beauty” Contest for children, while the last day will feature the “General Elite Dates Beauty Contest” and “Rare Dates” competitions.

As part of the specific standards and criteria set for the dates’ competitions, participants must present dates that are locally produced in the 2024 season, at an optimal ripeness stage, with moisture content not exceeding 50 percent.

The dates should be free from insect infestations, dead insects, their eggs, larvae, excrement, or any apparent defects, abnormal smell or taste, or be tainted by traces of mineral or sand such as scars.

The dates size should be appropriate and should not contain unripe fruits. For individual dates varieties’ category, the dates should not weigh less than 4kg without the basket. The dates should also be presented in high-quality baskets without any hangers.

The 8th edition of Al Dhaid Date Festival will welcome its audience with a rich agenda of economic, commercial, cultural and heritage activities and programmes, which will reflect the importance of the festival as one of the most prominent agricultural and economic events in the UAE and the region.

The festival offers unique opportunities to local farmers and participants to take part in many competitions that will showcase the finest varieties of dates from the UAE’s local production for the year 2024 sourced from private farms.