Qurayyat — 10 Jumada al-Awwal 1447 AH / 1 November 2025.

The Qurayyat Salt Festival in Al-Jouf region's Qurayyat governorate has seen a strong turnout, with more than 20,000 visitors in its first three days since opening, amid a heritage and tourism atmosphere combining history, entertainment and innovation. The festival is organized by the Al-Jouf Regional Municipality, represented by Qurayyat Municipality.

The festival features more than 60 entertainment and cultural activities and programs, ranging from heritage, artistic and interactive shows. Highlights include the Salt Museum, which showcases the history of salt extraction and its traditional tools through life-size models and educational workshops, as well as the Salt Market, home to more than 70 stalls for home-based producers and local processing industries.

Daily heritage and performance shows featured 12 folklore troupes from around the world, while the Boulevard area hosted more than 20 outlets for entrepreneurs in the cafe and restaurant sectors. The children's and interactive games area welcomed more than 3,000 children during the festival's early days.

Light and visual shows add an aesthetic dimension, narrating the history of Qurayyat and its tourist sites through modern lighting techniques, while artistic and cultural evenings feature varied poetry and musical performances by Saudi and Arab poets and artists, making the festival a favorite destination for families and visitors from across the region.

The festival saw the participation of more than 250 young men and women in organizing and operations, including local volunteers, alongside 20 government agencies that helped support and implement the events and provide logistical services.

Qurayyat Municipality Mayor Jamal bin Abdulddayem Al-Balawi affirmed that the festival is one of the municipality's most prominent events under its plan to improve quality of life and develop tourism assets in the governorate, noting that the strong success of the first edition reflects the continued support of the Emir of Al-Jouf region for cultural and tourism events.

He explained that the festival helps revive Qurayyat's local identity and highlights salt as an economic and cultural symbol reflecting the region's history and strengthening its position on the national tourism map.