King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will inaugurate the 25th National Heritage and Folklore Festival on March 17 at Janadriya village, said Prince Mit'eb Bin Abdullah, National Guard Vice-President for Executive Affairs and Deputy Chair for Janadriya's Higher Committee. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he also announced that two prizes will be awarded – one each for culture and heritage – named after the King and carrying cash awards of SR1 million each. The King Abdullah Prize for Culture and the King Abdullah Prize for Heritage will be awarded to the winners every year starting from the 26th Janadriya Festival in 2011, Prince Mit'eb said. Both Saudi nationals and foreigners are eligible for the awards in question, he said, adding that the relevant rules and regulations will be announced soon. Divulging details of the event, Prince Mit'eb said, France would be the Guest of Honor at the upcoming festival. About 1,000 guests from various countries are scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, which will start with a grand camel race. The theme of this year's festival is “National Unity”. As many as 400 scholars, both men and women, from across the globe will attend the two-week festival during which various literary events will be organized. Prince Mit'eb said that highlights of these events will be two seminars titled “King Abdullah's Vision of Dialogue and Peace and Accepting Others” and “Obstacles to Peace and Dialogue Between Nations”. He said the Janadriya Festival will be open for families and individuals on separate days. The event, he added, will be open for male visitors and school trips between March 18 and March 22. March 23 has been reserved for women visitors whereas from March 24 to March 31 the event will be open for families between 10 A.M. and 5.30 P.M. For the convenience of the visitors, Prince Mit'eb said 100,000 parking spaces have been made available around the venue.
