Date and schedule

The main public days of the Festival will be 16th-17th December 2011.

Saturday 10th December 2011	International visitors arriving
Sunday 11th	Hawking, preparation and day excursions. Evening events
Monday 12th	Hawking, preparation and day excursions. Evening events
Tuesday 13th	Hawking, preparation and day excursions. Evening events
Wednesday 14th	Hawking, preparation and day excursions. Evening events
Thursday 15th	Schools and children day
Friday 16th	Main Festival Day
Saturday 17th	Main Festival Day
Sunday 18th	International visitors leaving

LOCATION

The location is at Qasr Al Sarab 22 53 56 38 N, 54 20 08 70 E. in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. Qasr Al Sarab is 250 km from Abu Dhabi airport. It has a newly built 5 star hotel with 52 villas and 154 rooms http://qasralsarab.anantara.com/. It was opened by HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed in October 2009. It has been very carefully designed in the heritage tradition, has 500 on-site staff, a permanent medical team and helicopter on stand by and its own fenced in grounds of about 260 km2 reaching to the border of Saudi Arabia.

To the South of the hotel, the Rub Al Khali stretches unbroken for 500 km. The Festival itself will be about 1.5 km from the hotel at 22 53 09 26 N 54 20 38 18 E. A Heritage Village is under construction and the Festival tents will be clustered around it. Surrounding this are the huge dune systems with a variety of wildlife, and parties on camels will make their way deep into the desert to hawk hares.

TRAVEL

We intend to organise charter flights and 8-day travel packages from major cities to the Festival. We are seeking expressions of interest from falconry groups in order to plan charter planes and the air-routes needed. Visitors on charter flights will be met at the airport, bussed to the Festival, provided with catering and accommodation and bussed back to their flights without the need for further arrangements.

There will be a number of sponsored tickets available for finalists in the various competitions and for some of the invited participants in the activities listed below.

ACTIVITIES

Traditional Falconry.

As well as the normal activities you expect at the International Festival, we plan to offer the opportunity for a limited number of falconers to go on an overnight hawking trip alongside experienced local falconers and trackers. The main quarry will be the desert hare and the hawking will be conducted in the traditional manner with saker falcons, salukis and camels. This is the first time traditional hare-hawking has been available for an entire generation and will be the falconry experience of a lifetime.

Scientific Conference.

In parallel with the Festival events there will be the Third Conference of the Middle East Falcon Research Group including sessions on raptor medicine and health with specialist raptor veterinarians, conservation and sustainable use of wild raptors, and developments in the management and sustainable use of quarry species and managed hunting areas, as well as development of action plans for falconry heritage.

Photographic Competition.

There will be a photographic competition with about 13 categories and sponsored trips for all finalists to attend the Festival.

Art and Crafts Competition.

The Art competition will include sections for both two and three dimensional art, calligraphy, falconry equipment, falconry jewellery and costume. This will be the first international falconry art competition. Finalists will be sponsored to attend and exhibit their work, and the finalists will be judged by official specialists in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Music and Dance.

Singers, Poets and Dancers from any of the 65 falconry nations will be invited to perform at the Festival on a non-competitive basis to exhibit the huge cultural variety found in world falconry. If you would like to participate, contact us and you may be offered a sponsored trip.

Arena Events.

Teams wishing to participate in arena events are invited to discuss feasibility with the organisers and a variety of species of trained birds of prey, as well as horses and camels, will be available.

Festival Assistants.

We are looking for a number of experienced Falconers to come to the Festival 2-3 weeks before hand to assist in preparing the animals and to help run the entire event.

Excursions.

Pre-booked coaches will be available for day excursions to Abu Dhabi to see the city and to visit the Grand Mosque.

ACCOMMODATION

The Empty Quarter is called that because (you've guessed it!) – it is empty! There will be limited pre-booked accommodation at the Qasr Al Sarab Hotel and at the Liwa Hotel 60 km away. Most visitors staying throughout the festival will be accommodated in tents, including Bedouin tents, and there will be national tents available including a Steppe Village of yurts. A variety of catering arrangements will be available as well as washing and shower facilities.

CLIMATE AND CLOTHING

December in Abu Dhabi is very pleasant. It can be cool at night and warm clothing is needed. In the daytime it is cool enough to be active outside during the whole day. Evenings are a lovely time to socialise, circulate and meet new friends and local falconers will be on hand to show the legendary Abu Dhabi hospitality. Bring loose clothing, some with long sleeves to guard against sunburn. Insects are not a major problem. Sand can be an issue, especially if there is a windstorm, so ensure that you have sealed containers for sensitive equipment such as cameras, and bring sandals that can easily be kicked off to empty out sand.