The drizzling in the morning and thick clouds hovering over Salalah suddenly changed everyone's mood in this southernmost city of the Sultanate and people started talking about the onset of Khareef season and month-long Salalah Tourism Festival (STF), which is beginning today at the Municipality Recreation Centre in Yitin.

The 28-day festival will continue till July 18. Generally the official Tourism Festival is organised for about two months, but the duration this time has been reduced by a month due to the Holy Month of Ramadhan coinciding at the same time.

From July till September the annual summer monsoon touches the Salalah mountain slopes and the coastal area with its delicate drizzling fog. Nature awakens from its sleeping beauty and a tender green carpet of grass is decorated with flowers.

The attractions of this year’s festival are Shopping Fair, Book Fair, Omani Products Exhibition, dance performances from different countries and regions of Oman, and events dedicated to children.
The festival this year has been dedicated to children and special care has been taken to incorporate as much children-related programmes as possible.

According to Abdullah Ali al Muqaddam, In-Charge of the 1340212130498050600 Khareef Festival The new children’s programme titled the ‘Omani Child Forum’ will run under the theme of ‘Secure childhood and promising future’ and it will have a variety of educational, social, health and cultural activities.

According to OITE, the agency responsible for organising Consumer Exhibition at the STF, the festival visitors may look forward to a true global shopping experience with a local touch, with this year’s exhibition welcoming the onset of the Khareef season and highlighting products of local and international businessmen from various countries covering Thailand, China, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Oman.

The festival will highlight a variety of cultural, heritage and entertainment activities, including the latest fashion trends, exotic products and items which will be on display at the shopping fair.

The festival will be open on Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays to the general public and on Sundays for ladies exclusively (full ground), while Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays will account for family days.

On the concluding day (July 18) the festival will be open to ladies who may use the opportunity to do their shopping and head towards the exhibition.

The Book Fair will highlight books from acclaimed publishers, libraries, local and 1340212218728075800 international cultural institutions from countries covering Egypt, UAE, KSA, Oman and Syria.

Visitors may browse through variety of books covering categories like instruction/explanatory, jurisprudence, belief, language, literature, children stories, history, tradition, astronomy, study-related, research, medicine, environment, media and tourism as well as novel selections.
The Omani Products Exhibition constitutes a separate pavilion which will be a part of the STF and will showcase Omani local products and consequently the wealth of the country.

A unique opportunity for local brands to cater to global demands, the pavilion will cover products extending to agriculture, livestock, dairy, fisheries, textile and fashion, food and beverages, furniture, gifts, handicrafts, household appliances, perfumes, pharmaceuticals, electrical and electronics, rubber and plastic products, paints and decorative coatings.