Al Ain City Municipality participates in Al Ain Dates Festival 2026
Al Ain, July 23 / WAM / Al Ain City Municipality participates in the first session of Al Ain Dates Festival 2026, which is held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Ain Region and organized by the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority during the period from 25 to 31 July this year in Al Sarooj Park in Al Ain City through an integrated pavilion that highlights the story of the Al Ain oases, as one of the most important cultural and environmental evidences that are linked to the city’s history and identity. It is an integrated system that combines agricultural and cultural heritage and sustainability.
Al Ain Oases are the beating heart of the city’s heritage. Over thousands of years, they have been a source of life and stability, and their historic aflaj contributed to the prosperity of agriculture and the sustainability of natural resources, until they were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
Participation focuses on the municipality’s efforts to preserve it and preserve its historical and environmental components as a national heritage for future generations.
Engineer Rashid Al Neyadi, Director of the Operation and Maintenance Center in the city center, explained that the municipality’s pavilion offers visitors an interactive knowledge trip that reviews the history of the oases, their environmental and heritage importance, and the types of dates and fruits for which Al Ain oases are famous, in addition to introducing the aflaj system, which formed a unique model for water management throughout history, and contributed to the sustainability of agriculture and life in the region.
Al Neyadi added that the pavilion highlights the municipality’s efforts in managing and maintaining oases and aflaj, which include monitoring irrigation work, regular maintenance and cleaning, ensuring water distribution to palm farms, implementing agricultural pest control programs using the latest technologies with low environmental impact, in addition to removing agricultural waste in a way that enhances the sustainability of the oases and preserves their environmental and heritage value.
The pavilion showcases the municipality’s pioneering experience in recycling palm products and transforming them into various products of aesthetic and functional value, in a model that reflects the municipality’s orientation towards a circular economy and environmental sustainability, and highlights the possibility of employing natural resources in innovative ways that preserve the environment and support local heritage.
The municipality’s pavilion displays a number of date varieties produced in the oases of Al Ain, such as (Al-Khalas, Maktoumi, Khunaizi, Boumaan, Shishi, Lulu, Baqla Al-Dahla, Jish Ramli, Fard, Baqla Al-Tawa’a, Herring Baqla, Anbar Al-Madina, Bu Al-Zabad, Jabri, Namishi, Barhi, Hilali, Majdool and other varieties, in addition to a group of seasonal fruits such as green lemons, mango, Bananas, peaches, olives, figs, quince, fifai, bember (ambu), al-zam and bidham (almonds) and others, which reflect the richness of the agricultural environment in the city and the quality of its local products and highlight the agricultural diversity that characterizes the Al Ain oases.
This participation embodies the goals of the Year of the Family by strengthening the family’s connection to the national heritage, consolidating the values of identity and belonging, and encouraging generations to be inspired by the cultural heritage and transmit it, thus contributing to preserving the Emirati heritage and enhancing its sustainability for future generations.
The pavilion provides an interactive experience for festival visitors, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of recycling and preserving natural resources, and to introduce community members to the best environmental practices adopted by the municipality, thus enhancing the culture of sustainability and encouraging the adoption of innovative solutions to utilize agricultural waste.
The Al Ain City Municipality confirmed that its participation in the Al Ain Dates Festival comes from its keenness to support national events that celebrate palm trees and their fruits as an authentic symbol of the Emirati identity, and contribute to highlighting the efforts made to preserve and develop the oases, in addition to strengthening community partnership and spreading environmental awareness.
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