Balevi, Ariel

Ariel is a storyteller for adults, children, and general audiences. He tells stories from the Eastern tradition, in particular from the folklore and literature of Iran and Turkey. His repertoire includes stories from Shahnameh, the Haft Paykar and the Thousand and One Nights. He has performed in Washington D.C., Ottawa and various venues in the Toronto area such as the Toronto Public Library.  He also has performed at a number of local festivals such as Word on the Street and the Toronto International Festival of Storytelling.

Khalafi, Sophia
ORFF performance

Sophia Khalafi teaches piano lessons and works with young children through ORFF pedagogy. Children will make rhythms using pitched and non-pitched instruments.

Kurdish Dance

Kurdish dances reflect samples of Kurdish life over the past thousands of years. Rhythmic and elegant movements are called Halparke. The dancers, hand in hand, are depositaries of centuries of revealed culture in Halparke that indicates their unity in history. These movements differ in different parts of Kurdistan from the variety point of views, and joy and worry have their own special place. Kurds sing and dance in all of their festivals, birthdays, and marriage ceremonies. These folkloric dances are one of the main factors which distinguish Kurds from neighbouring Muslim populations.
 Kurdish House Dance Group was formed on July 2007 and since then have preformed in over a dozen cultural events. The group performs a few different style such as; Dilan, Chopi, Sepe, Garanava and Shikhan. The group has adults and teens section.

Arts & Craft orkshop

Each small group of children will be assigned to a volunteer to start an activity at one centre and rotate to the next centre following the volunteers as their guide.

children will have their face painted and the clown makes different shapes out of balloons for children.Children will be given free balloons right at the entrance of the kid zone tent.

Cartooning Workshop
Maryam Afshar

The cartooning workshops will provide children with instructions on drawing various Persepolis characters as well as various characters from the story of Arash Kamangir.  This workshop will encourage familiarity with the theme of our festival and a piece of the Iranian history.  Children will then be able to keep their drawings as souvenirs. 

Music Workshops
Sophia Khalafi

The 30 minute Music workshop will be conducted by Mrs. Sophia Khalafi with years of experience in teaching piano and working with young children through ORFF pedagogy.  The workshop aims to entertain and familiarize children with pitched and non-pitched instruments and percussions.  The workshops will also provide children with 20 minutes of instruction on the instruments followed by a brief opportunity to practice the skills. 

Storytelling Workshop
Parisa Ghavami | Shahrzad Koraim | Sahar Talebizadeh

The storytelling workshop will be conducted by several individuals in both Farsi and English.  The workshop will appeal to a younger age group and will incorporate visual drawings that accompany the story of Arash Kamangir and Mahpishooni.  The storytelling workshop will be partially conducted by Miss Sharhzad T. Koraim, a graduate of children’s theatre and literature.  Miss Koraim has experience working with children in the area of drama and illustration.  Other individuals involved in the story telling workshop will include Miss Sahar Talebizadeh and Mrs. Parisa Ghavami.  Miss Talebizadeh is a doctoral student in the area of clinical psychology and also functions as a psychoeducational consultant.  Mrs. Ghavami is a graduate in English Literature and Education and has 8 years of teaching experience with the Toronto District School Board.

Drawing Workshop
Khosravi, Nasrin

Born in Iran. B.A. in graphics from the School of Fine Arts, Tehran University. Graphic artist at the Institution for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults. Currently working on illustrations for Boof Koor by the famous Iranian author Sadegh Hedayat. Illustrated many children's books and exhibited in numerous exhibitions. Runner-up in the 9th Noma Concours and winner of various awards in national and international illustration contests.