According to organizers, over 65,000kg of dates were sold in the first three days of the Souq Waqif Local Dates Festival. The event featured 14 different types of dates, attracting many guests. The Khallas type was the most popular among customers, with a whopping 25,541kg sold. Shishi came in second with 14,184kg, followed by Khenaizi with 13,641kg, Barhi with 4,820kg, and other date types with 4,820kg.
The fair also sells a variety of fruits. According to Souq Waqif management, 400kg of figs and almonds were sold from Thursday to Saturday. The number of participants increased significantly throughout the weekend, with hundreds rushing to the festival to purchase fresh and date-related items. Abdul from Syria, one of the happy customers, stated his pleasure for purchasing fresh dates at the festival owing to their price and the opportunity to assist local farmers. Meanwhile, Samantha from Kazakhstan expressed her amazement at the availability of ice cream-flavored dates.
According to the Festival's General Supervisor, Khaled Saif Al Suwaidi, this year's edition provided much more than the customary pleasure of purchasing fresh dates. According to him, visitors were treated to an intriguing selection of date-based delicacies, such as cakes, tarts, smoothies, jams, and juices.
This year's festival features 103 local farmers. Date prices begin at QR6 per kilo. One kilo of the famous Khalas date cost QR10, Khinaizi cost QR8, while Nabth Saif, Lou Lou, Raziz, Gor, and other dates cost QR6. The festival is open daily from 3:30pm to 9:30pm, except Fridays, when it is open until 10pm, and it runs until August 5.
