Al Wathba Dates Festival concludes its third session and honors the winners of its various competitions
ABU DHABI, 25 JANUARY / WAM / The Al Wathba Dates Festival concluded its third session yesterday, which was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President of the UAE, Deputy Prime Minister, and Head of the Presidential Court, and within the Sheikh Zayed Festival in the Al Wathba area, organized by the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, with wide participation from palm growers, producers, artists, photographers and chefs from various emirates of the country.
His Excellency Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei, Executive Director of the Festivals and Events Sector at the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority, and His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Neyadi, Director General of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, crowned the winners of the festival’s competitions, which included decorating dates, a date packaging competition, and live drawing, photography, and cooking competitions.
The winners were crowned in the date auction that took place during the festival’s days in the categories of “Al Wathba Elite, Al Dabbas, Al Khalas, Al Fard, Al Shishi, Bu Maan, and Al Zamili.” The number of participants in the competition reached 101, who presented 5,525 kilos of dates, and prizes amounting to 280,000 dirhams were allocated to ten winners.
The winners of the date packaging competition were also crowned in the “No Additives” and “Stuffed” categories, with the participation of 39 contestants who presented 780 kilograms of dates, and the competition prizes amounted to 135 thousand dirhams for each category for ten winners.
The “Dates Auction”, which was held as part of the festival’s activities, recorded the sale of 3,403 kilograms of dates, with a total value of 152,500 dirhams, which reflects the large participation of farmers and producers, and the role of the festival in providing a specialized marketing platform for Emirati dates.
The festival witnessed the honoring of His Excellency Mohammed Saif Al Neyadi, Director General of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, the strategic partner of the festival, and His Excellency Mubarak Al Qasily Al Mansouri, Advisor to the Director General of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, the festival’s supporter.
His Excellency Obaid Khalfan Al Mazrouei said that the third session of the Al Wathba Dates Festival achieved clear success in translating the Authority’s efforts in supporting the palm sector and raising the quality of local production of dates by providing a competitive environment that contributes to the development of agricultural practices and related industries. He pointed out that organizing the festival reflects the Authority’s interest in preserving the agricultural heritage and consolidating its presence in line with the requirements of sustainable development and serving the local community.
He stressed that the festival succeeded in achieving its goals of encouraging farmers to improve production, enhancing opportunities for marketing dates, and providing room for the exchange of experiences among participants, in addition to supporting creators in the fields of visual arts, cooking, and photography related to heritage through the great turnout witnessed in its competitions, the wide participation it received, and the daily follow-up from the festival’s audience.
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