Dhow festival gathers momentum

• Published date: 20 November 2014
• Publication title: Gulf Times

Traditional sailing and rowing competitions, as well as various cultural activities in the Katara the Cultural Village beach area, were among the highlights of the second day of the Fourth Traditional Dhow Festival yesterday.

Members of the Omani team sang and danced in jubilation after winning the first four awards of the rowing competition, defeating two teams from the UAE and one each from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The teams in the first four places received cash prizes of QR100,000, QR70,000, QR50,000 and QR30,000, respectively. The rest of the teams received QR10,000 each.

At least 40 contestants on board eight boats joined the competition, which attracted a large number of spectators. Dhow crews cheered and performed traditional songs and dances as the contestants paddled their way into the sea and back to the shore. Nine boats also joined the dhow sailing event while 14 persons qualified for the pearl diving competition.

In a press statement, Katara said some 600 students from different schools in the country and more than 40,000 people have visited the event so far.

"A nice atmosphere and a good display of boats," said Dino Palazzi from Argentina, who was engrossed in taking photographs of the festival.

Since its launch four years ago, he stressed that the event was evolving and getting nicer and bigger, with hundreds of dhows participating each year.

Some 300 contestants are taking part in this year's fiveday festival, described as a "recordbreaking participation from Qatar and other GCC countries".

For Palazzi, the traditions and cultures of different Gulf states have remained the most interesting part of the festival. "The dress...