Celebrating the fruits of the desert

The annual festival, which is held under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs,, aims primarily to exchange technical experiences between farmers to grow the best and finest types of palms and fruits.

Held in the Liwa City Al Dhafra Region in Abu Dhabi, the Liwa Date Festival is an annual event that introduces date producers to modern agricultural practices and facilitates the exchange of expertise on the best ways to produce the highest quality date. 

The festival includes prominent activities such as wet competitions, fruits, the most beautiful fairy tale (basket), the model farm, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of agriculture, and various heritage activities.

The festival also is one of Abu Dhabi’s most significant heritage events and tourist attractions that highlights the many ways dates have impacted the cultural, heritage and economic life of the country. It provides a great place for visitors to learn about dates and to sample the most popular date varieties grown in the UAE.

The versatile date palm and the date fruit have played an important role in fulfilling the dietary needs of generations of desert communities, including those in the United Arab Emirates. The fruit is highly nutritious, while the trunk, fronds and other parts of the tree were traditionally used in buildings, handicrafts and tools. The Liwa Date Festival highlights these and other important aspects of the date palm.