Rose Season
The Rose Season is an annual festival that celebrates the rose harvest season in Taif Governorate, affiliated with Makkah Al-Mukarramah Province, west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The season begins in spring, upon the initiation of the rose harvesting activity.
Number of visitors of the Rose Season
The Rose Season event, held in Taif, annually attracts about one million visitors from Saudi Arabia and abroad. It receives up to 120 million roses from the farms of Al-Hada, Al-Shafa, surrounding areas, and agricultural villages that include about 850 rose farms.
Beginnings of the Rose Season
The first edition of the Rose Season was launched in 2005, with the support of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (currently known as the Ministry of Tourism). The Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Municipality of Taif Governorate, has been organizing the 'Taif Rose' events since 2021. The event was later renamed the 'Taif Rose Festival.' The season encourages farmers, producers, artisans, and productive households. It supports Saudi Arabia's agricultural economy. It is held for ten to fourteen days and features various events related to rose production, visual art, theater, and culture. It usually displays a large flower carpet, placed in Arruddaf Park, in Taif.
Events of the Rose Season
The events associated with the Rose Season festival encompass a visual arts exhibition for Taif artists. It also features a women's forum, various cultural competitions, an open theater, a free drawing studio, and a parade of horsemen and classic cars. Teams that perform a variety of Taif Governorate's renowned traditional arts also take part in the event.
The events also encompass parades and live performances showcasing historical heritage arts renowned in Taif Governorate. It includes spots selling Taif roses of all kinds. It displays attractive carpets made of roses and features exhibitions held on the margins of the festival, encompassing the participation of both exhibitors and craftsmen, where they display products related to the Taif rose in addition to various types of aromatic products emanating from the rose industry, where they are extracted from roses.
The content and events of the festival focus on the parades and displays showcasing the history of roses, vehicles decorated with roses, and large statues. It also features the Rose Mountain, the Rose Hymns Exhibition, the Rose Market, as well as the Rose Village. It houses the Fragrance of Kings Exhibition, the market area, the theater area, and the children's area. The visitors are introduced to the Fragrance of Kings Exhibition, where they learn about the history of the Taif rose and its association with kings, upon exploring royal perfumes from inception to production.
The rose market area showcases the products of vendors, productive households, and brands. These products are made of Taif roses. On the other hand, the park's theater hosts Saudi artists who present artistic, musical, and theatrical performances. The festival celebrates culinary arts within the framework of the 'Food and Roses' event.
The 'Arduna' (Our Land) event presented an artwork shedding light on the cultural depth of Taif Governorate. The 'Perfume Forum' offered a platform that brought together farmers and global brands to find investment opportunities based on cooperation between entrepreneurs and global brands, ultimately seeking to include the Taifi rose among the most renowned perfume brands.
External events of the Rose Season
The events of the Rose Season are not limited to events held within the scope of the festival. In fact, the festival features external events, some of which take place at Taif International Airport, whose lounges are decorated with roses. Moreover, the airport welcomes its visitors with collars made of Taif rose in addition to visual displays of rose-made figures showcased on the roads leading from the airport to the event premises held in Arruddaf Park. Furthermore, a rose parade roams the streets of Taif. It features vehicles decorated with roses, hence showcasing the festival's identity.
Record breaking during the Rose Season 2022
In its 2022 edition, the Taif Rose Festival has set records in terms of the number of its visitors, reaching about one million visitors. It featured programs and events that included corners, pavilions, and exhibitions dedicated to the Taif rose and its derivatives. It was held on an area of 560,000 m, and featured a carpet made of eight hundred thousand various roses and flowers in addition to a basket including 190,000 roses.
The basket made of Taif roses broke the relevant world record within the Guinness Book of Records, which had been held by the Singaporean rose basket since 2018. The rose basket was 12.129 m long, 7.98 m wide, and 1.297 m high, while the Singaporean basket was 9.47 m long, 6 m wide, and 1.2 m high.