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Yalda: A Festival of Light
December 21, 2020 @ 6:00 pm - December 22, 2020 @ 12:00 am PST

Join us for an evening celebrating Yalda (winter solstice), the longest night of the year and the birth of Mithra.
Shab-e Yalda (Yalda Night) is the Persian Winter Solstice Celebration on the eve of the Winter Solstice. The Persians believed that this night is the night of the birth of Ahura Mazda and Mithra, Persian God of Light and Truth. He was born on the morning of the longest night of the year.
Presented by Eastern Arts and the Simorgh Dance Collective, this first annual online gathering will be accompanied by music, dance, poetry reading, Persian mythology and stories, and more! Portions are recorded and live.
All are welcome. Please register in advance to obtain a link to the online presentation.
Please consider making a donation at http://donate.farimadance.com to support our artists below
Simorgh Dance Collective

Simorgh Dance Collective
Eastern Arts

Eastern Arts
Farima Berenji

Farima Berenji
Dr. Lloyd Miller
Dr. Lloyd Miller received his PhD in Persian Language and Literature from the University of Utah after spending seven years living in Iran where he had a weekly prime time television program titled “Kurosh Ali Khan va dastan”. His program featured musicians and other artists from around the world. Lloyd was urged to leave Iran during the revolution in the late 70s, though he had never planned to leave. An expert in world music including American jazz, Lloyd has made numerous recordings. The most popular being “Oriental Jazz” first released in 1968 and recently re-released by Vinyl Me Please selling thousands of copies worldwide. A film about Lloyd’s extraordinary life, including 6 years in Europe as a jazzman and university student where he played with some of the most well-known musicians of the time, is soon to be released. Titled “” the film will be screened in Finland October 25 at the World Music Expo. It was in Paris that Lloyd met Dr. Daryush Safvat who became his lifelong mentor and who taught Lloyd the importance and significance of Persian classical music. Founder of Eastern Arts, with the blessing of Dr. Safvat, Lloyd has taught music, philosophy, history, dance and culture to thousands of students at various universities for over 40 years. Read more…Katherine St. John

Katherine St. John