Jul 21

Tabestoon Arts & Culture Festival 2014

In the eyes of most North Americans, Iran is not exactly a country associated with alternative rock music, folk-fusion rap, and fashion shows.

However, a vibrant and energetic underground youth culture centering the arts has been thriving in the Iranian plateau for years. Famously featured in the award-winning movie, Nobody Knows about Persian Cats, this new cultural amalgamation fuses the ancient traditions of poetry, calligraphy, storytelling, and folk music that have been revered by Iranians for millennia with new age urban culture, molding new forms of music, dance, fashion, and visual arts.

This year, the city of Calgary, home to a thriving population of the Iranian diaspora, will host several of the most popular urban Iranian artists from around the world in Western Canada’s first art and culture festival, Tabestoon Festival. “Tabestoon” means summer in Farsi (Persian). The festival features stimulating live local and international performances including UK-based alternative rock band Ali Azimi & The Needs and native folk-fusion band, Ajam.

The lineup of live soundscape promises to shock and excite visitors unfamiliar with the Iranian cultural scene and deliver one of the best outdoor ethnic entertainments in Calgary this summer season.

The festival also features a photography exhibit by German photographer, Benedikt Fuhrmann, who will share personal and eye-opening accounts of his experiences travelling in Iran. Visitors can also look forward to TabestoonFest fashion show, a special program prepared exclusively for the festival.

The festival’s House of Traditions will hold art and craft workshops including showcasing the arduous process of weaving exquisite Persian carpets, Persian calligraphy, and oriental musical instruments of Iranian origin.

The majority of programs are free for the public and children’s entertainment will be provided. With all this great programming, there is only one place in Calgary you’d want to be this July 26^th! Join us for some great entertainment at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary.

For more info, program schedule, and to obtain tickets for special performances, please visit:

Website: www.tabestoonfest.ca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Tabestoonfest

Tickets: www.bit.ly/tabestoonfest-tickets

Help TabestoonFest reaches its goal: http://igg.me/at/tabestoon/x/7983328

This blog post was written by a representative from the Tabestoon Festival. If you or your organization would like to submit a blog post about an upcoming event, please email [email protected] for more information.