Seattle Iranian Competition Celebrates Conventional and Modern Iranian Tradition

The Seattle Iranian Festival, Saturday, June 26th, 7-10pm, via https://www.facebook.com/iacaseattle, brings Iranians, Iranian-Americans and non-Iranians together for a rich cultural celebration. Presented virtually in 2021, the festival features poetry, music, dance, food, art and more that speaks to the place of Iranian culture locally and around the world.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan opened the festival with a special greeting, followed by an interview with Seattle Center Director Robert Nellams and Iranian American Community Alliance (IACA) Chair, Mahta Ahmadnia. Further interviews and discussions will be spread throughout the evening with Shally Zomorodi (San Diego Fox 5 newscaster), IACA founder Ali Ghambari, festival poster designer Ghazaleh Vakili, Mona Kiani from Englisi Farsi, author Zeina Abdullah and others.

Festival music and arts components include the Seattle Persian School in vocals, the Karoun Dance Ensemble, music by Payam Khast-Khodaei, and a video featuring artwork by local Iranian-American artists. Iranian poet, songwriter and pop singer Shahyar Ghanbari will be interviewed with the Rastak Music Group, a contemporary folk ensemble whose members will also perform.

Festival producers round off the evening with two cooking demonstrations by Omid Roustaei aka The Caspian Chef and culinary director for Seattle-Isfahan Sister City Advocacy and a baking demonstration by Sepideh Zolfaghari from Joon Sweets.

Details about the program can be found at: http://www.seattlecenter.com/events/featured-events/festal/iranian-festival.

The Seattle Center Festál highlights the culturally rich communities that shape the character and history of our region. The series, which will be presented virtually in 2021, provides a forum for cultural groups to come together and share their stories with the wider community. The series began in 1997 to provide festivals with a central location to invite audiences to participate in their unique cultural expression.

Seattle Center presents Seattle Center Festál: Seattle Iranian Festival in partnership with the Iranian American Community Alliance, which works to unite, empower, and mobilize the Iranian-American community in the greater Seattle area. Streaming is free. For more information, visit www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call 206-684-7200.