SAMI ABDUL RAOUF (DUBAI)
Organised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, the inaugural Dubai Dates event kicked off at Al Rimal Hall on the Dubai-Al Ain Road on Saturday and continues until August 3.
The event is one of the most prominent heritage and social events in the Emirate of Dubai, attracting widespread participation from palm owners, farm owners, and productive families, along with several official entities.
Dubai Dates saw a large turnout from all the Emirates, participating in the competitions of the first day that included the Government Entities Competition, the Largest Date Bunch of Dubai (General), and the Home Palm competition.
The judging committee for Dubai Dates was compelled to hold the Home Palm competition at both the Emirate of Dubai level and the general level due to the significant participation in this competition from families who own palm trees in their homes.
The organising committee of the event announced the doubling of the prizes for this competition to Dh242,000 distributed among 10 winners from each competition. The prizes for the Dubai competition are provided by the Al Furjan Fund.
The Largest Date Bunch competition witnessed fierce competition due to the remarkable weights of the participating bunches, with some reaching 100 kilogrammes.
The prizes for the Largest Date Bunch competition in Dubai and the General category amounted to Dh67,000 for each competition, divided among five winners in the Dubai competition and five in the general competition.
In the Government Entities Palm Competition, the Correctional and Rehabilitation Centres Sector of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department - Juvenile Care Centre in Abu Dhabi won first place, Al Faqa’a Police Station came in second place, and the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai took third place.
Abdullah Hamdan bin Dalmook, CEO of the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Centre, expressed his happiness with the significant turnout at the launch of Dubai Dates, saying: “Our goal is to sustain the symbols of national heritage in the state, and the palm tree is one of these important symbols. The significant turnout for participation, especially in the ‘Home Palm’ competition, indicates that we are on the right path in building a strong social bond between the people of the country and the palm tree, which is one of our main goals at Dubai Dates.”
Bin Dalmook added: “Our vision is more social and cultural than economic. We work to establish the value of the palm tree as a national treasure and encourage various groups to cultivate and take care of it. Therefore, we have worked on increasing the number of winners in each competition.”
Bin Dalmook extended his thanks to the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority for their cooperation and significant support in ensuring the event’s success, and confirmed that Dubai Dates came to complete the journey of many date-related events at the state level, such as the Liwa Date Festival from which the event greatly benefitted after it provided the essence of its extensive experience in this field.
He added: “We share with the events related to dates and palm dates at the state level the desire and ambition to enhance the UAE’s position in the agricultural wealth sector in general and to establish its position in the field of palm cultivation in particular.
“The field of palm cultivation is known for its variety and quality of species, by doubling the attention to palms, which are considered an original and ancient product, and contributing to supporting palm owners from all categories we will reach our goal.”
Additionally, the exhibition platforms saw many visitors that came to view what the participants presented in terms of the best types and varieties of dates and to acquire palm products, as Dubai Dates includes numerous platforms containing everything related to palm owners, in addition to many activities and workshops specific to Dubai Dates.
The organising committee set the specifications for dates and the criteria for the competitions, including that the production must be from the 2024 season, locally produced in the UAE from a farm or house, and the dates must be in the appropriate ripening stage.
Furthermore, the participation must not include more than one variety within the specific category, and the dates must be of high quality, in addition to the official standards and conditions adopted in such events.