The 10th anniversary edition of ‘Live Our Heritage Festival’ to commence at Global Village

Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) announces the 10th edition of the ‘Live Our Heritage Festival.’ The festival will be held at Global Village and will celebrate traditional handicrafts from the UAE. Taking place from 29th October 2019 – 4th April 2020, the focus of the festival is upon safeguarding Emirati heritage among the different nationalities in the UAE.

The festival, which is an annual celebration of the UAE’s rich culture will feature demonstrations of six primary crafts, the skills of which have been passed down through generations. These include: Saf Alkhos or palm frond braiding, which was used for a wide variety of household items and furniture as well as for the storage and transportation of dates; veil-making from a special cloth called ‘shil’, which is characterised by its deep blue colour; and Al Talli, which is a thread weaving craft typically practiced by women. Other crafts on display will be that of fragrance making or ‘dhukhoon’ from blended incense; silver jewellery crafting and coffee brewing. Arabic coffee or ‘qahwa’ is an integral part of the heritage and culture of the UAE as it captures the values of hospitality of the people of the Arabian Peninsula. Presenting dates and coffee to guests on their arrival is usually the first gesture of generosity towards visitors, with whom they share not only food and drink but also news, stories and poems.

The festival will also host a series of heritage exhibitions upon the subject of UAE history and tradition as well as folk arts events on weekends and public holidays. Each weekend, under the title ‘Al Mothea’ Al Motujawil’, heritage competitions will be open to the public in order to maximise interaction and engagement with the festival.

Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture said: “This edition of the ‘Live Our Heritage Festival’ is aligned with Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s ‘Let’s Preserve the Legacy’ campaign to preserve our heritage. Our history is the most valuable treasure that we have and it is our duty to inspire future generations by sharing the traditions and skills of the past with them. The event also consolidates the direction of the leadership towards Dubai 2021 Plan to make Dubai a city of happy and creative residents.”

Fatma Lootah, Director of Cultural and Heritage Programmes said: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome visitors to this special 10th anniversary edition of the ‘Live Our Heritage Festival’. Our country is built on wonderfully rich and creative foundations and every year, it is important for us to celebrate these. We hope to inform visitors about the way of life that our forefathers followed as well as inspiring new generations to think creatively whilst learning about their heritage.”

The festival welcomes Global Village visitors daily from 5 - 10pm, giving them the chance to enjoy the rich programme of interactive workshops, folk art performances, heritage competitions, and training workshops based on the traditional crafts.

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the UAE’s rich heritage. The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures to enhance Dubai's position as a creative and sustainable global city for culture, heritage, arts, and literature, with the aim to empower these sectors by developing creative and innovative projects and initiatives locally, regionally, and globally.