Safi – For four days, the city of Sefrou will once again be dedicated to its most emblematic fruit as the 102nd edition of the Cherry Festival returns on June 24.
The celebration brings together concerts, traditional folk troupes, and a series of cultural activities, alongside the highly anticipated crowning of the new Cherry Queen.
Organized by the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication in collaboration with the provincial authorities and the municipal council, the festival continues its long-standing role in highlighting the cultural and agricultural heritage of the region.
The program for this edition was announced by its president, Rachid Ahmed Acharif, on his official page.
Four nights of festivities
The festival will open on June 24 with the crowning. A panel will select the new Queen at Dar al-Qaid Omar, as a brass band and an Issaoua troupe play.
The official opening will follow on the next day at Bab al-Maqam stage. The musical ensemble of the Royal Moroccan Navy will play at 8:45 p.m.
Around 9 p.m., the minister and the council president will deliver speeches, followed by the crowning of the new Queen and her attendants.
The “Moroccan Weddings” spectacle will bring together folk groups and hadra singers, followed by a flight of illuminated drones over the crowd, before chaabi artists Abdellah Daoudi and Badr Sabri close the night.
A second stage at the Popular Arts Village will host regional ensembles and Ahidous groups each evening from 7 p.m., while throughout the day craft and produce exhibitions, a children’s village, and Tbourida displays animate the festival across the city.
The programme on June 26 shifts toward chaabi and a younger audience, with Aziza El Meknassia and rapper Muslim headlining the Bab al-Maqam stage.
The festival will conclude on June 27 with its grand parade, as the Queen’s procession moves from Boulman Road to Bab al-Maqam at 7:30 p.m., with chaabi veteran Abdelaziz Stati headlining the final night.
A festival made by the whole city
In Sefrou, the festival takes shape through the city itself: craftswomen stitch silk buttons for traditional dresses, growers bring in the cherry harvest, and local sports clubs participate in the side competitions.
The fruit itself turns up everywhere. Producers sell it fresh at the exhibitions, and families turn it into jams and sweets.
At the parade, the Cherry Queen, in her caftan, scatters handfuls of it over the crowd.
A century of Cherry Queens
The Cherry Queen is the festival’s oldest and most emblematic tradition. First launched in Sefrou in 1919, the festival initially crowned a straw doll as its symbolic queen.
It was only in 1934 that a real woman first assumed the role. In its early years, the title was held by French and Jewish residents of Sefrou, before Muslim women later joined the tradition.
This history is what led UNESCO to inscribe the festival on its heritage list in 2012. The cherries give the moussem its name, while its inclusion reflects the spirit of coexistence it showcases each June.
