Buraydah International Dates Carnival 2026
About the event
The Buraydah International Dates Carnival 2026 is an agricultural and commercial season held at Dates City on King Abdulaziz Road south of Buraydah in the Qassim region, running for 75 days from 1 August to 14 October 2026. Guinness World Records lists it as the largest annual dates carnival in the world, with seasonal sales above 3.2 billion Saudi riyals and more than 30 varieties of Saudi dates on display.
The season is organised into six tracks. The Auctions and Global Economy track carries the dawn auctions, the digital dates exchange, shipping company kiosks and a weekly charity auction. The Empowerment and International Integration track at Al Nakhla Centre hosts the first international forum for date festival organisers, a seminar on dates in Islamic culture, processing industry workshops and exhibitions by government bodies and associations. The Family and Entertainment track runs a children's theatre and its competitions. The Arts and Culture track in the events tent gathers agricultural technology and smart farming exhibits, live culinary shows, the Palm Museum, working craft displays and a productive families market. The Tourism and Exploration track runs guided bus journeys between the historic Jarda market, the Ageilat Museum and the palm groves. The Theatrical Arts and Knowledge Forums track is staged at King Khalid Cultural Centre. The season is addressed to farmers, traders, exporters, factories, productive families, visitors and families from inside and outside the Kingdom.
Entry is free and no ticket is required. The market and the auction run daily in two periods, from five in the morning until eleven at night. The accompanying programme runs from 20 August to 9 September, the main theatrical production telling the story of the palm in Qassim is staged five times between 1 and 5 September, and the season closes with the Golden Night honouring the winners of the auctions and of the grand prize.