Dayrestan Village on Qeshm Island Celebrates Second Agricultural Nowruz Festival

The second Agricultural Nowruz Festival will take place on Thursday and Friday, September 18-19, in Dayrestan Village on the global island of Qeshm, celebrating the village’s rich culture, ancient rituals, and agricultural heritage. The festival aims to promote cultural tourism, sustainable farming, and public engagement while showcasing the unique identity of this historic village.

Mahmoud Abuli Dayrestani, the village headman, explained that the festival includes vibrant programs such as a children’s carnival, sevandbafi weaving, mogh pazidan (palm tree climbing), the rezif/azva ceremony, dabheya music by children, zagar, liva, oud and jaffini performances, goat and asurik tree shows, the iron cow ceremony, and traditional halva-making.

The festival’s slogan, “The Green Heart of the Blue Island,” symbolizes the harmony between agriculture and the sea—two pillars of Dayrestan’s livelihood. On Thursday, September 18, festivities kick off at 4 PM with a date sweet competition and a performance of the local Dar Top game by village women at the Dehil Ecolodge. On Friday, September 19, a children’s carnival will take place in the village’s Alishahi palm grove, alongside music performances, traditional shows, and food-making demonstrations.

Organized by the Qeshm Free Zone Organization, the village Islamic Council, and the local community, the festival highlights the village’s centuries-old agricultural knowledge and its role in reviving palm groves and indigenous practices.

Registered in Bahman 1403 on Iran’s official tourism calendar, Dayrestan Agricultural Nowruz now stands as a flagship rural festival, bridging tradition and modern tourism. With its lush palm groves and diverse garden produce—including mango, anbo (sepistan), lemon, banana, fig, and olive—Dayrestan offers visitors a living window into the island’s agricultural heritage.

The Agricultural Nowruz Festival is more than a celebration; it is a vivid revival of rural life, a journey into the ancient bond between humans and nature, and a showcase of Qeshm Island’s green and blue heart.