Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Food festivals, one of the new trends in the Kingdom during the past few years, are not just a chance to taste fantastic dishes and a tool to flourish local businesses, but also places that flourish the Saudi culture. Several food festivals are taking place in Ramadan in Jeddah aiming to educate people about the Hejazi culture or to give visitors a special social experience that is focusing on socializing more than food. ‘Akel Awal Benakaha Asreya', meaning ‘the food of people in the past with a trendy taste', is a food festival that kicked off on the first day of Ramadan and will continue until Eid. The event is located near Red Sea Mall. Many entertaining activities are available for families and children such as the clown part. Buffet for iftar and suhoor are also part of the event and families enjoy the part of live cooking during the open buffet. The festival is supported by the General Entertainment Authority. ‘Ramadan Nights Festival', is another event that will be held from June 8 for 3 days. It is located in Park Yard Land infront of Sawari Mall. Several famous restaurants will be part of the festival and many entertaining activities and sections will be there including, photography section and art section. ‘Masharef Ramadan Nights,' this food festival, which was held multiple time in the past years but with different theme, focuses more on presenting the local and new food businesses. It starts Wednesday and will continue until June 10. Few games and activities are usually available for kids. Although there are not any major festival in Al-Balad this year, many people are still visiting Historic Jeddah to experience the old Hejazi food.
