The Janadriya Festival has a great deal of activities this week, including the 36th camel race which will start Wednesday afternoon with more than 1,000 participants from the Kingdom and Gulf states and an operetta performed by leading singers. The camel race is divided into six rounds over four days. In addition to the race, the festival's program includes celebrating the winners of the 17th King Abdullah Qur'an and Sunnah Memorization Competition for students of both genders. Wednesday's ceremony will also honor poet Abdullah Bin Edrees, who was selected as the Person of the Year for his literary and cultural contributions. The ceremony will also witness the festival's 25th operetta Wehdat Watan (Unity of a Home) written by Sari and composed by singer Majed Al-Muhandis and composer Naser Al-Saleh. The 45-minute operetta will include the performance of singers Rashed Al-Majid, Muhammad Abdu, Abdulmajeed Abdullah, Abbas Ibrahim and Al-Muhandis. Actor Rashed Al-Shumrani will also perform a show. The operetta is produced and directed by the MBC Channel. Janadriya Village The Janadriya Heritage Village this year will see a number of new services for visitors. The Takhassosi Road has been linked to it and new parking lots for 100,000 cars have been prepared. There are also 1,000 parking lots for participants. Other facilities and support services have been added inside and outside the village. The green space of the village has been increased with more than 800 palm trees planted. The village's folk market is repaved for the comfort of visitors especially those with special needs. The festival will witness the opening of a pavilion for the Ministry of Education on a 10,000 sq. meter area. Other new pavilions are for the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology and the Presidency of Youth Welfare, among others. The village will open its doors for visitors Wednesday at 4 P.M. It will contain 600 craftsmen from all parts of the country exhibiting their heritage. Many craftsmen were seen carrying their old tools and preparing their spots prior to the festival. The pavilions were designed to represent previous eras in the Kingdom. Each pavilion represents a region's cultural heritage. Bands from different regions will also perform folk shows.
