All set for 30th Jerash festival — organisers

AMMAN — All is set for this year’s Jerash Festival for Culture and Arts, which opens on Thursday, Mohammad Abu Summaqa, the festival’s executive director, said Monday. 

Organisers expect a huge turnout with the festival, in its 30th iteration, featuring a wide array of performances by Jordanian, Arab and foreign artists and troupes.

“We have prepared everything for the festival. Parking lots near Jerash city where the activities will be held are prepared. All logistics are now ready. Ticket sales are on the rise as well,” said Abu Summaqa.

“Based on the demand for tickets, we expect a huge turnout for the festival. It is an opportunity to attract tourists from several Arab countries, especially the Gulf states and Arab-Israelis,” the official said over the phone.

Several leading Jordanian and Arab artists will participate in festival activities including celebrity singers like Lebanon’s Wael Kfoury, Rami Ayyash, Nancy Ajram, Maya Diab and Yara, in addition to Jordan’s Omar Abdallat and Hani Metwasi, and Kuwaiti Abdullah Rowaished.

There will be performances by troupes from Palestine, Algeria, and India, among other countries. 

The timing of the festival, which concludes on August 1, will help attract thousands of visitors, according to its director.

“This year, the festival is held after Ramadan and after the end of the Tawjihi [General Secondary Education Certificate Examination] summer session. It also coincides with the school summer holiday, which all together will help attract many families and visitors and we hope this year will witness more visitors than last year and build on previous successes,” Abu Summaqa added.

Jerash audiences will also have the chance to enjoy the performances of folkloric dance troupes representing Turkish, Circassian, Spanish and Chinese cultures, according to a statement by organisers.

The festival’s agenda also includes poetry sessions, where renowned Jordanian and Arab poets will recite some of their work. It will also include a programme aimed at discovering talents. 

The Jerash festival is an annual celebration of local, Arabic and international culture during the summer. It is held in the old Greco-Roman town of Jerash, known in old times as Gerasa, and located some 48km north of Amman. 

In 2011, the government revived the festival, which was first launched in 1981, after a four-year suspension.

In 2008, authorities had launched the Jordan Festival, a nationwide theme-oriented event under which the Jerash festival became a component, a move that faced bitter criticism from fans, artists and associations.