Welcome to the Romani Community of Las Vegas, Nevada. Let our page be a portal to Romani friends living in or visiting Las Vegas. Add us to your friends list and recieve info on Gypsy Music Events like Balkan Tones (to be announced) and other future Venues like the band KAL and comming in SEP-OCT Ivo Papasov and Yuri Yunakov together as Ensemble TRAKIA on their US Tour. And also comming to California on May 5, 2007:
THE 11TH ANNUALCALIFORNIA HERDELJEZI ROMA FESTIVALA benefit event to help the Roma of KosovoSATURDAY, MAY 5th 2007, 1-9pmIves Park downtown Sebastopol (directions to Sebastopol)$18 entrance - students and seniors $12 - children 12 and under free (no one turned away for lack of funds)COME RAIN or SHINE!HERDELJEZI is a traditional Romani (Gypsy) neighborhood celebrationannouncing the end of the cold indoor season and the beginning of the warmerseason of movement and outdoor life. Survival from the winter and theseasonal renewal of life is celebrated at Herdeljezi through the sharing ofmusic, dance, food and community.- for background on the California Herdeljezi Festival, scroll downLive Music & Dancing with:AMANETI ñ6 member all Rom band from NYCplaying Romani wedding-style dance musicRUMEN SALI SOPOV & KITKABRASS MENAZERIVADIM KOLPAKOV -Russian Roma 7-string guitarist, vocalist and dancer from the "Romen" Moscow Roma theatre"GOGOL BORDELLO DJoriginal electronic Romani mixDANNY FENDER & SAM MARKSDEMO/ LECTURE withCAROL SILVERMAN, SONIA SEAMAN, KAJIRA, & AMY LUNASaturday, May 5th, Festival Program Schedule (tba)Balkan Romani Instrument WorkshopsAMENETI musicians (time/place tba)Romani Singing Workshop withCAROL SILVERMAN (time/place tba)Romani Dance Workshop withSANI RIFATI (first hours of festival)- for workshop descriptions and prices scroll to bottom of the pageAVAILABLE ALL DAY: various traditional foods, Sonoma County wines & beer, soft drinks, lemonade, water, traditional coffee and chai, Henna Art, unique handcrafts, CDs, & much more (sold separately)Please volunteer before and during the Festival!To join other volunteers, please call Amanda: (707) 823-5858 or -Click here/For ticket reservations, questions about lodging, rides, or other festival details, please email us: [email protected] or call: (707) 823-7941officeFor map/directions to Sebastopol, hotel/camping accommodations, click hereSponsors of the 11th Annual California Herdeljezi Festival include:Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma CountySonoma County Businesses:Lagunitas Brewing CompanyRedwood Hill FarmSprint Copy CenterWest Sonoma County Disposal ServiceWineries of Sonoma CountyBackground: California Herdeljezi FestivalIn 1996 VOR created the first Herdeljezi Festival in California. It was designed as a means of preserving and sharing the cultural traditions and folk arts of the Romani people here in the United States, while building a sense of community among the friends and neighbors who help to make it happen. Since then the Herdeljezi Festival has become an annual event that draws larger crowds each year. Ten years later, the Herdeljezi Festival continues to exemplify the way in which VOR creates a sense of "mahala" (community-neighborhood) infusing it with the traditional and authentic Romani music, songs, dances, stories, foods, crafts, literature and customs of the Roma. This Event benefits VOR's efforts on behalf of the Roma in/from Kosovo, to educate the public and international organizations about their plight and to provide them with humanitarian aid.The 11th Annual California Herdeljezi Festival, a traditional Romani (Gypsy) folk arts festival will be held May 5th, 2007 in Sebastopol California. The festival celebrates the folk art traditions of Roma (Gypsies); featuring traditional music, songs, dances, stories, foods, crafts and customs of the Roma, within a strong community-building context, and with a goal of creating a sense of 'mahala' (shared community-neighborhood) amongst all who participate.For its first several years, the California Herdeljezi Festival was held on the grounds of a neighborhood cul de sac and nearby local church in a small town in Western Sonoma County. Having outgrown this space by the fifth annual festival, the location was moved to the downtown block of Graton; where over 700 people attended.In 2003 the 7th Annual Herdeljezi Festival was expanded to a two-day event, this time at a community center and beautiful park in downtown Sebastopol, the largest city in Western Sonoma County. 2003 was the first year that a grant from the California Arts Council enabled small fees to be paid to artists, technicians, and festival coordinators. More than 900 people attended this highly successful gathering.Preparation for the Herdeljezi Festival begins months before the actual event. VOR president Sani Rifati takes the lead in soliciting input from other cultural experts such as Esma Redzepova (The Queen of "Gypsy" Song), Ian Hancock (Rom scholar and professor of linguistics at the University of Austin, Texas) and Carol Silverman (professor of Folklore and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oregon with a specialty in Romani music), as well as Romani friends and family from diverse countries. Volunteers attend planning meetings, make arrangements for and with the participating artists, and work with local partners such as the Sebastopol City Council and Sebastopol Parks and Recreation Services as well as many local businesses.Past Festivals have included celebrated performers such as Rumen Shopov, master Bulgarian Rom musician and band leader; Sani Rifati, drummer, dancer and dance instructor in the Balkan Romani tradition; Kitka, Bay Area Balkan Women's Choir singing Romani folk songs; "El Lolo" Mario Torres, a Spanish Rom Flamenco singer-guitarist; Kajira and United We Dance , Soloist, and belly-dance troop, performing in the Romani tradition; Edessa and Anoush, two popular Bay Area Balkan Bands; Jaime del Rio and his Flamenco musicians and dancers; and many others.In addition to the high caliber music, dance, and spoken word performers, some of whom come from as far away as Vancouver, BC, New York, Virginia, Iowa, Washington, Oregon and Southern California to participate in the festival, the festival includes other expressions of Romani culture and folk arts such as: henna painting, an exhibition of traditional Romani handcrafts such as colorful crocheted shawls, tablecloths, embroidered decorative pillows, hand knit clothing, etc., photo exhibits and screenings of video documentaries, traditional Romani circus arts, etc. The involvement of the surrounding community is enhanced by a parade through the neighborhood, featuring music and dance. The day's festival lasts all afternoon and evening, and includes the ritual lighting of the fire and burning of the symbolic "biggest" log, maintaining this important Romani cultural tradition celebrating the spring-summer season of movement and outdoor life.Balkan Romani Instrument, Singing, and Dance Workshops:AMENETI MUSICIANS:ISMAIL LUMANOVSKI - CLARINETIntermediate & advance classPrice: $ 20 1 hour and halfRUMEN SHOPOV- DOUMBEKIntermediate & advance classPrice: $20 1 Hour and halfCAROL SILVERMAN- TRADITIONAL ROMANI SINGING CLASSvocalist with the Yuri Yunakov Ensemble, and leading scholar of Balkan Romani music and professor of folklore and cultural anthropology at the University of Eugene, Oregon. Carol is co-founder and annual Romani singing instructor at the EEFC Balkan Music and Dance camps. All levels. $15SANI RIFATI ñ ROMANI DANCES FROM THE BALKANSSani, president and co-founder of Voice of Roma and of the California Herdeljezi Festival is an exuberant and exhilarating dance instructor. He has taught at Kolo Festival in SF, the Chicago Spring Dance Festival, Mainewoods Camp, Portland Maine, Balkanalia, Portland Oregon, Folkball, Madison Wisconsin and at Balkan music and dance camps in the U.S. as well as at schools and folk dance events throughout the Bay Area. He will teach several dances which he will review and lead during the course of the festival day and evening. DonÃt miss your chance to learn so you can join in the fun! Separate donations welcome.Kusturica's Matrix
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