RIYADH: This year’s Buraidah Date Festival continues apace in Qassim, with more than 50 family-based growers taking part alongside a host of craftswomen and female entrepreneurs.
The event, which runs until Aug. 25, aims to support local producers of foods and handicrafts in recognition of the contribution they make to promoting the Kingdom’s products and preserving its culture.
The festival is organized by the local branch of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and seeks to facilitate the exchange of expertise related to date cultivation and the production of derivative products.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The event, which runs until Aug. 25, aims to support local producers of foods and handicrafts in recognition of the contribution they make to promoting the Kingdom’s products and preserving its culture.
• As well as serving up a host of displays, exhibitions and other activities, the festival creates more than 4,000 seasonal job opportunities, reflecting the government’s efforts to boost employment at the local level across the Kingdom.
As well as serving up a host of displays, exhibitions and other activities, the festival creates more than 4,000 seasonal job opportunities, reflecting the government’s efforts to boost employment at the local level across the Kingdom.
The festival features over 45 varieties of fruit and attracted a large number of traders and consumers, leading to a significant increase in commerce.
The Sukkari date variety remains the top seller, followed by the Sagai variety. Other popular varieties include Wanan, Khalas, and
Red Sukkari.
Meanwhile, more than 40 plastic artists are also taking part in the Buraidah Date Festival. Visitors to the festival can watch them create murals and paintings portraying the economic and social significance of palm trees and their fruits.
Around 150 murals depicting various aspects of the palm tree, including its fronds, trunk, and fruit, are on display in an exhibition that also highlights the diverse manufacturing industries linked to the palm tree.
In addition, the exhibition features paintings symbolizing the key part played by the production of palm trees in boosting the country’s economy and enriching its cultural identity.