Edinburgh Iranian Festival 2011

The Edinburgh Iranian Festival and supported by Iran Heritage Foundation.

The Edinburgh Iranian Festival is a non-political showcase for world-class Iranian culture, as well as for bands and artists working both in and outside Iran. The primary aims of this festival is to introduce the tremendous breadth of Iranian history and culture to adults and children living in Scotland, as well as to integrate the Iranian community into Scottish society through a broad range of interactive events spanning across a wide range of art-forms. The festival is planned on a not-for-profit basis, organised by volunteers, and is affiliated to Edinburgh University Persian Society (EUPS).

The first Edinburgh Iranian Festival took place in 2009, with 35 events that were attended by 2500 people. There were fourteen films, music concerts, exhibitions, lectures on Iranian history and literature, and stand-up comedy shows. In addition, a number of local restaurants offered Iranian menus for the duration of the festival. The second season of the festival is due to take place from 28 January to 6 February 2011. The 2011 festival is planned to include sport events and a mini bazaar, in addition to new shows in many of the same categories that proved popular in 2009.

Summary of the main events:

• Comedy show by Patrick Monahan, Peyvand Khorsandi and Sam Farzaneh

• Painting exhibition by Maryam Hashemi and Haleh Jamali

• Poetry night by contemporary Iranian poets such as Lobat Vala, Mehri Kashani and Soheila Ghodstinat and live music by the band Sahra

• Photo exhibition by various Iranian artists such as: Roxana Pope, Sara Mohseni, Mehrdad Azmin, and Bahar Azazdi

• A mini Iranian Bazar, with stalls selling various Iranian products

• Book reading and Q&A, with Dr. Dr. Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and his latest book Ctesias at the Court of the Great King

• A collection of books on Iran available at the Blackwell's book shop

• Series of lectures on ancient Persia and a lecture on Iranian/Muslim/British identity by Professor the Baroness Haleh Afshar

• Talk on Persian carpets and Persian tiles

• A selection of events for kids including comedy shows, films, and storytelling from Shahnameh

• Iranian food at cafes and restaurants around Edinburgh

• Iranian Film Season including a film seminar on Women and Films in Iran

• Traditional music concert with Magham Ensemble and Dunya Ensemble

• Pop music concert with live music by GOL, Scottish Ceilidh, and Persian Disco

• Other events include a pub quiz on Iran, Yoga classes in Farsi and English, Santour Music classes, Iranian cookery classes, and a 5 aside football tournament between Scotland & Iran!

The festival brochure, containing the full festival programme can be downloaded from here.