Newsletter Issue 01

A Success Challenging Harshness of Desert
Liwa Date Festival, a Landmark and a Proud History
Liwa Date Festival is the important
gate and landmark, titles deservedly
won by Liwa Date Festival, giving over
the last few years a heritage dimension
full of components of history and
original civilization. It tells stories of
deserts and its people, stories linking
past with present throughout life.
Today, Liwa Date Festival starts its 8th
edition. This great festival has now
become globally known. Let’s have a
quick view on the previous editions
and how it has developed today.
First Festival (2005): It was held under
the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan deputy prime
minister and minister of presidential
affairs, at Liwa City Wedding Hall in
Mzeraa town, where about 1200
farmers took part displaying more
than 5000 dishes of their best dates
produced in 2005 season.
Second Festival (2006): It was held
under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh
Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
deputy prime minister and minister
of presidential affairs. From being
only an exhibition showing the
products of dates in a certain area,
the festival developed to become an
event expanding farmers’ horizons
and raising their awareness on
growing dates and related issues, thus
attracting attention of many people
inside and outside the region.
Third Festival (2007): It was held under
the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mansour
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan deputy prime
minister and minister of presidential
affairs. The festival became an annual
event gathering the productive
families from the region in addition to
focusing on the tourist and economic
sides for producing dates in oasis. 90
prizes were distributed and awarded
to competitors. Also, 76 shops were
equipped for the productive families
and 60 shops made sales exceeding
AED 1500000.
The third session of the festival
witnessed a display of a distinguished
elite of vegetables and fruits meeting
the admiration of the attendees,
produced by the model farm in the
western region, belonging to the
Public Parks Section in Abu Dhabi
Municipality, after it succeeded in
realizing a distinguished and abundant
production of free chemical and
organic vegetables.
8 Liwa Date Festival 2012 Liwa, Western Region, Abu Dhabi, from 12 to 18 July 2012
Fourth Festival (2008): It was held
under the kind patronage of General
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al
Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
deputy commander of Armed Forces.
The festival became a multi event and
activities occasion. In addition to the
main activity being Date Competition,
the festival witnessed other heritage
handcrafts, poetry, collective wedding
parties, awareness-raising lectures on
palm trees and agriculture in general,
popular games, religious lectures,
cultural competitions, and a special
course for raising children awareness
on palm trees, in addition to a large
auction of dates.
The numbers of participants mounted
reaching 3800 participants, and the
number of the competing palm tree
farms in both western and eastern
regions became 27 thousand farms.
A 6-killo basket of dates was sold for
AED 40.000. Also, 250 young men
registered in the collective wedding
party held on the sideline of the
festival.
Also, the number of the prizes in the
current festival increased becoming
140 prizes. Also, the winners’ ranks
also increased to meet the increasing
numbers of festival, which we hope
to become an international festival in
the coming sessions.
150 shops were equipped for the
productive families who will largely
take part in the festival of this year;
and 120 sale centers and showrooms
of leading companies realized sales
amounting AED 1780000 out of the
total sales being AED 2.200.000
realized in the festival, representing
the sales of exhibition and sales
of auction which was held on the
sideline of the activities.
Fifth Festival (2009): The festival was
held under the kind patronage of H.H.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
deputy prime minister and minister
of presidential affairs. It achieved big
success, attracting more than 60.000
visitors including a large number
of foreign tourists. The number
of participations has also risen in
the festival competitions, where the
number of participants reached 1769
coming from all UAE exhibiting 5715
baskets of dates.
General H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Zayed Al Nahyan Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince and deputy commander of the
armed forces, ordered Liwa Dates
Festival organized by Abu Dhabi Culture
and Heritage Authority, 35.000 palm
seeds to be distributed to winners
and participants in the festival, in
appreciation from his highness to their
interest and keenness on this original
heritage. This came after his H.H. visit
to the activities of the 6th session of
Liwa Date Festival 2010.
Also, the new logo and the website
of the festival were launched, as such
website provides excellent media
and statistics services being the first
of its kind. There is also an exhibition
for the participating exhibitors, and
kids’ tent, and heritage taste contest
where famous chefs working in the
UAE hotels compete preparing dates
dishes, besides the main contest of the
festival, namely “Date” Competition” in
all kinds.
The number of participants for this
season exceeds 350 families sharing
190 popular shops all of them are
dubbed “Liwa Mahadher” introducing
the identity of each shop owner ,
and to whom each Mahdar belongs.
Displays were also various ranging from
handcrafts showing the UAE’s national
tools in the past, that is before the
wide-scaled development occurring
the UAE, in addition to the industries
incorporating dates, in addition to a
number of participations within the
program “Sougha” belonging to Khalifa
Fund for Supporting and Developing
the small and medium projects.
Also, 11 local and Gulf governmental
departments concerned with
growing and producing dates took
part, in addition to “AL Fo’a” Dates
Producing Company and a number
of governmental departments and
institutions including the Western
Region municipality and Directorate
General of Western Region Police, Abu
Dhabi Health Company “Seha”, Culture
and Heritage Authority and other
government institutions.
The festival prizes for this year have