AL AIN (WAM)

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Ain Region, the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority is organising the inaugural edition of the Al Ain Dates Festival from July 25 to 31 at Al Sarooj Park in Al Ain city.

The event forms part of the Authority's celebration of the UAE's Rutab Season, aimed at boosting local production, promoting best agricultural practices, and highlighting the exceptional quality of Emirati dates and seasonal fruits.

With 245 awards valued at over Dh5 million across 19 competitions, the festival reflects the rich diversity of rutab varieties for which Al Ain's oases are renowned, while providing farmers with the opportunity to showcase their top-tier harvest.

Competitions include date Mazayna beauty contests for key varieties such as khalas, bumaan, fard, khneizi, shishi, and samli, as well as elite competitions that highlight the diversity of commercial date varieties grown on Al Ain farms.

In the Elite category, farmers present a collection of varieties within a single entry, excluding those featured in individual variety competitions. Fifteen prizes have been allocated for each lite competition to encourage broader farmer participation, showcase local, commercial, and rare varieties, and highlight the remarkable diversity of rutab production across the region's farms.

The festival’s competitions showcase a full year of dedicated farm work, beginning with initial palm pollination and progressing through irrigation, fertilisation, thinning, pruning, and monitoring the growth of date bunches until harvest time when the fruit reaches peak quality.

The festival pays tribute to farmers and their hard-earned yields, shedding light on the inherited agricultural knowledge that has cemented the date palm's place in Emirati society as an enduring symbol of generosity, identity, and sustainability.

Judging panels enforce rigorous technical criteria, evaluating date quality by size, colour, taste, stage of ripeness, and overall purity, alongside assessing broader farm management practices. The on-farm inspections assess cleanliness, palm care, proper pruning methods, and the application of best irrigation and agricultural practices, encouraging farmers to refine their yield, raise local produce standards, and reinforce sustainable farming habits.

Local fruits also take centre stage across six dedicated competition categories: Red Figs, Yellow Figs, Local Mangoes, Mixed Mangoes, Local Lemons, and Mixed Lemons. These contests enable farmers to enter their finest seasonal harvests under benchmarks assessing fruit quality, uniform size, colour, overall presentation, and flawless condition, celebrating Al Ain’s agricultural diversity and promoting continuous quality improvement.

In parallel, the Largest Date Bunch competition showcases the farmer's skill in nurturing the date palm and managing the bunch throughout its growth cycle. Judging participants solely on total weight, the contest underscores the deep agricultural expertise required to balance yield, regulate nourishment, and protect the crop, resulting in robust, fully formed date clusters that meet the highest festival standards.

The date palm’s legacy extends throughout the festival into the traditional crafts and heritage industries passed down through generations. In the Best Traditional Date Basket competition, artisans compete by crafting date baskets (makharef) using traditional weaving and decorative techniques.

Guidelines require the use of natural materials and strictly forbid adhesives to preserve the craft's historical authenticity and genuine handiwork. Similarly, Art from the Date Palm Trunk competition invites artisans and artists to repurpose elements of the palm tree into artistic and functional pieces inspired by Emirati heritage, celebrating both the aesthetic and practical value of this blessed tree.

The Authority has also dedicated the Home Harvest (Kharayef Al Bayt) competition to date palms cultivated in domestic gardens. This category honours the long-standing bond between Emirati families and the palm tree, encouraging continued home cultivation. To maintain equity across all categories, festival rules bar home-harvest participants from competing in farm-based contests.

With competitions running throughout the festival duration, visitors and farmers can follow each category through every judging round. The festival grounds thus become an interactive space for exchanging agricultural knowledge and learning about local varieties and cultivation methods.