The Birzeit Heritage Week Festival

The Birzeit Heritage Week Festival is unlike any other festival in terms of the richness and diversity of its displays, productions, for-sale items, and activities. There will be cinema, street performances, adult and children's theater, dance, and music — a lot of music, ranging from jazz to traditional Palestinian folk tunes. There will be soloists and major bands, as well as ensembles from both inside and outside the Green Line, performing songs that may be funny, patriotic, cynical, or hopeful. At the "International Souq," several countries join Birzeit's festivities.

A typical Palestinian wedding serves as the opening ceremony and a unique feature. Visitors to the Festival will be able to witness millennia-old wedding rituals such as women carrying flower-bedecked trays of henna to be applied to the bride, the joyous singing and call-and-response chanting of the "al-zaffeh" accompanying the groom, and the "al-suffeh" head-dress and tunic decorated with exquisite traditional Palestinian embroidery, a technique that came to Palestine in the 8th century when Dama The ceremony concludes with an energetic and extremely traditional "dabka" dance, which expresses the pleasure of fresh beginnings represented by weddings.

The Birzeit Heritage Week Festival, which is held under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, highlights a key emphasis of Rozana's work in rural tourism: establishing networks and partnerships to promote sustainable experiential tourism and strengthen local economies in the Birzeit area and beyond. Rozana has worked with a variety of local and international organizations over the years.

Date: July
Location: Birzeit, Palestine