At a Glance

• Khanaqin will host its Dates and Folk Arts Festival from October 9 to 11.
• Around 50 exhibitors will showcase more than 300 varieties of dates.
• Artists from across Iraq and the Kurdistan Region will join a nature-themed art symposium.
• The festival will also feature local products, handicrafts, and cultural performances.

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The Dates and Folk Arts Festival will open in Khanaqin tomorrow, bringing farmers, artists, and local businesses together for three days of cultural and commercial activities.

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Key Statements and Focus Area

• Festival Organizers: “The main objective of the festival is to create a market for local farmers' produce, foster cultural and commercial exchange, and strengthen ties.”
• Festival Venue: The new Khanaqin Corniche will officially open alongside the festival.
• Focus: The event aims to promote local agricultural products while highlighting Khanaqin’s cultural and artistic diversity.

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The festival will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Friday at the new Khanaqin Corniche and continue for three days. Around 50 exhibitors and orchard owners from different parts of Diyala Governorate will participate, presenting more than 300 varieties of dates.

Visual artists from Baghdad, Basra, Karbala, Najaf, Anbar, and Mosul, as well as the Kurdistan Region, will take part in an art symposium focused on painting Khanaqin’s natural landscapes and local character. Local artisans and businesses from the Kurdistan Region will also display handicrafts and locally produced goods.

Organizers said selecting the new corniche as the venue also marks its official opening. They said the site is intended to become a center for cultural, artistic, and tourism activities in the city.

The festival will open with performances of the Iraqi and Kurdish national anthems, followed by speeches from the Khanaqin District Governor, the head of the festival’s supreme committee, the Director General of Agriculture in Diyala, and the Director General of Culture and Arts in Garmian.

The opening day will also feature a performance by the Youth Center’s Daf group, awards for three local farmers and six participating groups, a performance by the Sulaymaniyah Folk Arts Troupe, an Arabic song, and a performance by the Payiz Group.

FYI

Khanaqin is a diverse city in Diyala Governorate near the border with the Kurdistan Region. Its location has historically connected communities and trade routes between the Kurdistan Region and central and southern parts of Iraq.

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