ALULA: The fourth annual Winter at Tantora Festival opened on Thursday, with visitors from all over the world witnessing a live vocal performance by more than 200 singers to mark the beginning of planting season in AlUla. Winter at Tantora has its roots in a generations-old annual cultural event to mark the start of the season. ‘Tantora’ refers to a sundial in the form of an obelisk located in the southeastern part of AlUla, the main function of which is to determine the beginning of the seasons, and to enable regulation of the distribution of spring water to farms. The annual Winter at Tantora music and cultural festival Kicks off on Dec.22. (Supplied) AlUla native Ruqayyah Muhammad Musa said that Tantora celebrations are part of local cultural heritage. “We have inherited it from our ancestors and we will pass it to generation after generation,” he said. HIGH LIGHTS • Locally harvested produce was available and the celebration also included a live orchestra performing a blend of local and regional music. • The smell of Saudi coffee permeated the area, as dozens of traditional Saudi coffee pots decorated the entrance, partly to mark the Saudi Year of Coffee. The opening-day events included traditional folkloric performances and a multimedia exhibition of Tantora history displayed on the walls of old buildings and narrated in Arabic and English. Tantora is a sundial that features a hierarchical stone structure characterized by its geometric accuracy, and it has a stone that is measured according to the sun’s inclination to determine seasons and times of the year. (Supplied) Locally harvested produce was available and the celebration also included a live orchestra performing a blend of local and regional music. The smell of Saudi coffee permeated the area, as dozens of traditional Saudi coffee pots decorated the entrance, partly to mark the Saudi Year of Coffee. Katie Johnson, who came over from Los Angeles for the festival in AlUla, told Arab News, “I saw it on Instagram two years ago, and as soon as I saw it, I knew it was somewhere that I needed to visit. It’s so stunning. I think it’s just one of the most mesmerizing places I have ever seen: the landscape, the nature, the desert. It’s just truly beautiful.” One of the visitors, Katie Johnson, a US traveler who came all the from Los Angeles to enjoy the beauty of AlUla. (Supplied) Johnson continued: “I’m excited to see some of the rocks, the carvings, and the Hegra. I’m excited that Saudi has opened up for tourism and that people are going to see the beauty that’s in this country.” The festival’s opening night concluded with an outdoor performance of “Shurfat AlJadidah” by the Saudi National Music Band, which included members of the Saudi Choir singing cover versions of songs by Saudi music legends of the Nineties and a selection of other classic Arabic songs, as well as some operatic numbers. Emad Zarea, the conductor of the Saudi National Band, told Arab News, “Today’s performance was a new idea that we presented for the first time, in cooperation with the Royal Commission for AlUla and the Music Commission.” Zarea added, “We presented 10 music pieces resampling Saudi heritage. We added three songs from different Arab countries, to offer diversity to the listeners.” Winter at Tantora runs until Jan. 21.