HERDELJEZI is a traditional Romani (Gypsy) neighborhood celebration announcing the end of the cold indoor season and the beginning of the warmer season of movement and outdoor life. Survival from the winter and the seasonal renewal of life is celebrated at Herdeljezi through the sharing of music, dance, food and community.

• Friday, May 1 - Romani Film Night
• Saturday, May 2 - Daytime Program  RAIN OR SHINE !

• Saturday, May 2 - Evening Program

Friday May 1 schedule  TICKETS!

Veterans Building - Sebastopol - 282 South High St.

4:00-5:00 pm	children's Romani dance workshop
5:30-8:30 pm	Romani music instrumental &vocal workshops
7:00-11:00 pm	main event: Romani Films with discussion (details below)

"Human Rights and Music: Roma in Film"
with discussion by Carol Silverman, Prof. University of Oregon. 7-11 pm. $10


in conjunction with the festival...
Concert and demos at Sonoma State University - Cotati - free!
ampitheater next to Ives Hall (in case of rain: inside Warren Hall, 12:30-2 p.m.)

Saturday, May 2 - Daytime Program  RAIN OR SHINE !

LIVE MUSIC & DANCING with: Rumen Sali Shopov, Ismail Lumanovski - clarinet, Severdjan (Klepach) Amzoski - clarinet, Chris Bajmakovich - accordion, Djordje Stijepovic, VIA Romen (Vadim Kolpakov, Arkadiy Gips, Alex Gorodezky, Petra Gelbart), Flamenco! Live! (La Fibi, Juan Del Valle, Pamela Martinez, Kati Mejia, Bill Burgess, Ruben 'El Rompecorazon'), Sonoma Academy Balkan Ensemble, Amy Luna emcee, Carol Silverman, Brass Menazeri, Édessa
Voice of Roma and friends
Dance instruction with Sani Rifati click to watch	Traditional Romani food prepared by the festival kitchen crew click to watch	Henna art

Saturday, May 2 - Evening Program 

8:45-9:15 pm	Brass Menazeri – in the beer garden
9:15–9:45 pm	Vadim Kolpakov & VIA Romen - in the abbey
9:45–10:15 pm	Balkan All-Stars Band - featuring Benji Rifati, trumpet, in the beer garden,
10:15–10:30 pm	Vadim Kolpakov - in the beer garden
10:30–11:45 pm	Balkan All-Stars Band - in the abbey
11:45 pm -12:00 am	Chris Bajmakovich – solo, in the beer garden
12:05-1:40 am	Jam - with various Festival artists, in the abbey

Hopmonk eagerly anticipates the early evening arrival of scores of musicians, dancers, and festival-goers from the 13th Annual Herdeljezi Roma Festival for a concert program of Romani music on Saturday May 2nd. The time-honored music and dance procession replicates Mahala, the act of gathering the entire local community in Romani culture.

Members of Brass Menazeri will lead the procession from Ives Park along with singer-drummer-dancer Sani Rifati and then kick-off the evening’s musical program atHopmonk. The Brass Menazeri is an Award Winning Balkan Rom ("Gypsy") style brass band, performing hard driving music of Serbia, Macedonia & Greece.

Brass Menažeri's powerful live music drives some of the most fresh and exciting live shows in the Bay Area, including SF Weekly's "Best Crazed Gypsy Brass Band Dance Party," Kafana Balkan. It is no wonder they have crowded clubs screaming and boogying and begging for more. Romani musicians from around the world will be at Hopmonk including Petra Gelbart performing with the amazing Vadim Kolpakov & VIA Romen, who recently finished touring with Madonna; and a stellar line-up of Balkan Romani musicians: Percussionist Rumen Sali Shopov; Chris Bajmakovich (accordion), Ismail Lumanovski & Severdjan (Klepach) Amzoski (clarinet) with Djordje Stijepovic (upright bass) (Serbia) - guaranteed to have you out of your seats and dancing all night!.

How it started

In 1996 VOR created the first Herdeljezi Festival in California. It was designed as a means of preserving and sharing the cultural traditions and folk arts of the Romani people here in the United States, while building a sense of community among the friends and neighbors who help to make it happen. Since then the Herdeljezi Festival has become an annual event that draws larger crowds each year. Ten years later, the Herdeljezi Festival continues to exemplify the way in which VOR creates a sense of "mahala" (community-neighborhood) infusing it with the traditional and authentic Romani music, songs, dances, stories, foods, crafts, literature and customs of the Roma. This Event benefits VOR's efforts on behalf of the Roma in/from Kosovo, to educate the public and international organizations about their plight and to provide them with humanitarian aid.

The 13th Annual California Herdeljezi Festival, a traditional Romani (Gypsy) folk arts festival will be held May 1 and 2, 2009, in Sebastopol California. The festival celebrates the folk art traditions of Roma (Gypsies); featuring traditional music, songs, dances, stories, foods, crafts and customs of the Roma, within a strong community-building context, and with a goal of creating a sense of 'mahala' (shared community-neighborhood) amongst all who participate.

For its first several years, the California Herdeljezi Festival was held on the grounds of a neighborhood cul de sac and nearby local church in a small town in Western Sonoma County. Having outgrown this space by the fifth annual festival, the location was moved to the downtown block of Graton; where over 700 people attended.

In 2003 the 7th Annual Herdeljezi Festival was expanded to a two-day event, this time at a community center and beautiful park in downtown Sebastopol, the largest city in Western Sonoma County. 2003 was the first year that a grant from the California Arts Council enabled small fees to be paid to artists, technicians, and festival coordinators. More than 900 people attended this highly successful gathering.

Preparation for the Herdeljezi Festival begins months before the actual event. VOR president Sani Rifati takes the lead in soliciting input from other cultural experts, such as Esma Redzepova (The Queen of "Gypsy" Song), Ian Hancock (Rom scholar and professor of linguistics at the University of Austin, Texas), and Carol Silverman (professor of Folklore and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Oregon with a specialty in Romani music), as well as Romani friends and family from diverse countries. Volunteers attend planning meetings, make arrangements for and with the participating artists, and work with local partners such as the Sebastopol City Council and Sebastopol Parks and Recreation Services as well as many local businesses.

Past Festivals have included celebrated performers such as Flamenco! Live! Dance Ensemble with dancer La Fibi; Rumen Shopov, master Bulgarian Rom musician and band leader; Sani Rifati, drummer, dancer and dance instructor in the Balkan Romani tradition; Kitka, Bay Area Balkan Women's Choir singing Romani folk songs; "El Lolo" Mario Torres, a Spanish Rom Flamenco singer-guitarist; Kajira and United We Dance, the soloist and belly-dance troup, performing in the Romani tradition; Edessa and Anoush, two popular Bay Area Balkan Bands; Jaime del Rio and his Flamenco musicians and dancers; Eugene Hutz and other members of the band "Gogol Bordello," plus many others.

In addition to the high caliber music, dance, and spoken word performers, some of whom come from as far away as Vancouver, BC, New York, Virginia, Iowa, Washington, Oregon and Southern California to participate in the festival, the festival includes other expressions of Romani culture and folk arts such as: henna painting, an exhibition of traditional Romani handcrafts such as colorful crocheted shawls, tablecloths, embroidered decorative pillows, hand knit clothing, etc., photo exhibits and screenings of video documentaries, traditional Romani circus arts, etc. The involvement of the surrounding community is enhanced by a parade through the neighborhood, featuring music and dance. The day's festival lasts all afternoon and evening, and includes the ritual lighting of the fire and burning of the symbolic "biggest" log, maintaining this important Romani cultural tradition celebrating the spring-summer season of movement and outdoor life.

Featured Artists

RUMEN SHOPOV
Rumen Shopov hails from Gotse Delchev, a crossroads town in southwest Bulgaria neighboring the borders of Greece and Macedonia. A master of the tambura (long necked mandolin), bouzouki, and an accomplished drummer and vocalist, Shopov was concertmaster of the Nevrokopski Folk Ensemble, Bulgaria's first national folk ensemble, for more than 20 years. He was also lead member of two of the Pirin region's hottest bands: Shturo Make and Orkestar Orbita. In 2002, he toured across America with the Kolev Family Ensemble. His music captures and showcases the sparkling fretwork, incendiary rhythms, and expressive soul of his native Bulgarian/Turkish-Romani musical tradition. Shopov has been artistic consultant to three previous VOR-International Roma Day celebrations.

Raymond van Tassel

CHRIS BAJMAKOVICH
Chris Bajmakovich, born in Chicago into a Macedonian Rom family, began playing accordion at age 5. He first professionally performed with a band at age 14, and gave solo performances in smaller venues, playing at weddings, christenings, church dances, and private parties, primarily in the large Balkan immigrant communities of Chicago. He also toured throughout the US with Macedonian singers. Bajmakovich has performed with many well-known musicians, including Ferus Mustafov, Milan Zavkov and Sasko Velkoy. He performed at VOR's 2006 International Roma Day event and has recorded several CDs.

Raymond van Tassel

ISMAIL LUMANOVSKI
Ismail Lumanovski was born in Bitola, Macedonia, and began playing the clarinet at age 9. He made his debut in 1998 with the Macedonian Philharmonic, and his US debut in 2002 as the principal clarinetist with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra at Interlochen Arts Camp. Currently a member of the Julliard Symphony Orchestra, he has won many competitions and awards, including first prize at the 23rd, 24th and 25th National Macedonian Clarinet competition. Lumanovski has given numerous concerts in France, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Turkey and the US, and recently toured internationally with world renowned oude player Marcel Khalife.

SERVERDJAN AMZOSKI (KLEPACH)
Klepach is from the the Romani borough of Shutka in city of Skopje, Macedonia. He is an amazing clarinet and saxophone player, in high demand all over Europe, both individually, and with his band, Titanik,.

Raymond van Tassel

VADIM KOLPAKOV
Russian seven-string guitarist, vocalist, actor and dancer. One of the foremost Russian Romani guitarists in the world, and a leading artist at Moscow's Romen Theatre. Born in Saratov, Russia, he began his training in earliest childhood, and at the age of fifteen, started dancing, singing, playing the Russian seven-string guitar, and composing for the Romen Theatre. He has toured internationally with The Kolpakov Trio and Gelem, playing for heads of state, Romani music festivals, and the World Music Institute's Gypsy Caravan, and at Carnegie Hall. Founder of the Boston-based Russian Romani group VIA Romen, Kolpakov has made historical reconstruction, solo, duet, and ensemble recordings. Kolpakov was Artist-in-Residence at Harvard, Boston University, Oberlin, Grinnell, and the University of Iowa, and is now Artist-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Vadim performs Saturday in the group "Vadim Kolpakov and VIA Romen": Arkadiy Gips (violin), Alex Gorodezky (guitar), Petra Gelbart (vocal, accordion), Helena Safarova (vocal) and Vadim Kolpakov (guitar, vocal, dance)
www.VadimKolpakov.com - www.MySpace.com/VadimKolpakov

Raymond van Tassel

PETRA GELBART
Was born into a family of Romani musicians, amateur and professional, in the former Czechoslovakia, where she has spent half of her life. She owes her most important musical skills to her mother, grandmother, and great-aunt, who trained her in Romani styles of singing. These styles rely on the intuitive yet specific use of vocal technique in which tone production and breath flow are varied according to the emotion of the moment. She has performed at venues in the United States and in the Czech Republic.

NESAT AJVAZI (NESHO)
Born in Belgrade to a Prishtina Romani family, which included a grandfather who played the djumbush and an uncle who played the tarabuka, Nesho grew up singing. At age 14 he moved to Staten Island, where he soon became involved in the local music scene, singing with Ramiz Kurtali’s band Sazët e Ohrid. He is now cultivating a solo career, performing songs in Albanian, Romani, Serbian and Turkish.

Raymond van Tassel

FLAMENCO! LIVE! DANCE ENSEMBLE
Phoebe Vernier, "La Fibi, is one of San Francisco’s premier Flamenco Dancers. She has been studying, performing, and teaching flamenco for 26 years. Over the course of more than two decades of immersion in the art form, she has developed a reputation as a powerful, dynamic dancer, as well as a supportive and strong backup percussionist (palmista) for dancers and musicians. La Fibi has performed extensively in the Bay Area as a featured Soloist. She has danced in the companies of Rosa Montoya’s Bailes Flamencos, La Tania Music and Dance, Theatre Flamenco of San Francisco, and has toured nationally with the renowned Maria Benitez Spanish Dance Company, and the Madrid based “Compania Noche Flamenca” at the Hollywood Bowl. She teaches in Petaluma and performs regularly in San Francisco with Toque Flamenco and in Oakland with Flamenco Vivo. Winner "Best Performing Dance Company" 2009 in The North Bay Bohemian’s Readers Poll!
Appearing Saturday May 2nd with dancers Juan Del Valle and Pamela Martinez, singer Kati Mejia, guitarist Bill Burgess, and Ruben "El Rompecorazon" on cajon.
www.lafibi.com -  www.myspace.com/lafibi

Raymond van Tassel

AMY LUNA
Award-winning dancer, choreographer and master instructor specializing in Romani dances from India, Turkey, Russia, Egypt and Spain. In 2005, Amy Luna made history leading the first Romani Trail dance ensemble to appear in 27 years of the prestigious San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. She has performed Romani dances for over 14,000 Bay Area school children in the cast of World Arts West's educational production 'People Like Me'. Her performances have been included in the Romani Archives at the University of Texas at Austin. Amy Luna is the Artistic Director of Lunatique, 'Belly Dance Troupe of the Year' (2007) and was named 'People's Choice Bellydancer' (2005). Her appearances include representing the United States at the Beijing International Cultural Festival (2005), and performances at the Jaisalmer Desert Festival in India (2006). During 2008, Amy Luna performed hundreds of shows in Mexico and the Caribbean as a featured Club Med Artist. From 2002-2008 she produced 'Cafe Bellie,' a dance benefit concert which has raised thousands of dollars for homeless women and children in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.amyluna.com

Raymond van Tassel

SONOMA ACADEMY
This year's Sonoma Academy High School Balkan Ensemble includes: Benji Rifati (freshman) trumpet, Evan Lummer (sophmore) baritone, Alex Hawley (senior) alto sax, Kathryn Messina (junior)tenor sax, Jacob Silverman (freshman) trombone, Spencer Wardwell (sophmore) tuba, A.J. Brant (freshman) bass clarinet, Simon Titone (sophmore) clarinet, McKenna Frazer (freshman) French Horn, Audrey Tatum (freshman) accordion, Linnea Sablosky (junior) percussion, Neal Falletta-Cowden (sophomore) percussion, Clio Wilde (sophomore) lead vocals in "Opa Cupa". Doug Gallagher, music director.

Raymond van Tassel

EDESSA
"Édessa, happily committed to playing music from the southern Balkans and beyond, covers a lot of musical territory, ranging from the trance/ambient sounds of Épirus to the high-energy dance grooves of Bulgarian wedding music. Rooted in the interwoven traditions of the Balkans, Near East and of the Roma people, the music of Édessa is satisfyingly complex and allusive - full of soul and improvisation. This mostly California-based band has been busy working the ethnic underground dance scene, playing for enthusiastic revelers of all kinds, in all kinds of places."
www.edessamusic.com

Raymond van Tassel

BRASS MENAZERI
"The Brass Menažeri (pronounced 'Menagerie') is the San Francisco Bay Area's Balkan Romani ('Gypsy') powerhouse Brass Band. We cascade through the music of the Serbian, Macedonian, Greek & Rajasthani Roma with wild rhythms, soulful vocals & hot improvisations. The energy is infectious—toes tap, bodies slam, sweat flies as vital energy radiates from the dance floor. The Brass Menažeri is a shining example of traditional Balkan repertoire combined with new sensibilities, innovative arrangements & original compositions at the hands & lips of American devotees."
brass.menazeri.com/

DJORDJE STIJEPOVIC
Djordje Stijepovic is often called the best slap style upright bassist of all times! He moved from Beograd to San Francisco in 2004 and already established himself as the favorite bassist for many world music bands from California (Fishtank Ensemble, Rupa and the April Fishes, Orkestar Sali...). While in Serbia, he recorded/toured with Kal (first position on European World Music charts), Marsya, Shira Utfila (RASA Award for the Best World Music Ensemble) and is featured as a solo artist on the latest Serbia Sounds Global compilation "All Stars" among great musicians like Saban Bajramovic, Boban Markovic etc. He has MA in Classical bass and degree in Jazz bass and arrangement. Besides with world music bands, he tours internationally with Rock'n'Roll legends Wanda Jackson, Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats) and leads his own band, Atomic Sunset. www.djordjestijepovic.com

Raymond van Tassel

CAROL SILVERMAN
Has been involved with Balkan and Romani music and culture for over 25 years as a researcher, teacher, performer, and educational activist. An award-winning professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Oregon, she teaches and writes about Balkan folklore, ethnography, and human rights issues faced by Roma. Based on fieldwork in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and New York, her research analyzes the relationships among music, politics, ritual, and gender. She is a founding member and lead vocalist of the Yuri Yunakov Ensemble, with which she has recorded three albums.

KREE ARVANITAS
Hennadervish, former owner of Gilded Lilies Henna Arts in Seattle Washington, since 1996 one of the most creative and innovative henna services in the United States. An experienced graphic artist, photographer and writer. Her passion for henna has taken her from dusty libraries to the medinas of Morocco, absorbing the history and language of this beautiful, traditional art. Kree is also a founding member of hennatribe.org a non-profit organization with an online professional community devoted to the dispersal of accurate henna information; research & development; and linking globally through forums, projects and conferences. Located in Seattle, Washington, Kreeis available for appointments, parties, personal ceremonies, lectures, photography, fashion and commercial art projects.

SANI RIFATI
President and co-founder of Voice of Roma and of the California Herdeljezi Festival. Is an exuberant and exhilarating dance instructor. He has taught at Kolo Festival in SF, the Chicago Spring Dance Festival, Mainewoods Camp, Portland Maine, Balkanalia, Portland Oregon, Folkball, Madison Wisconsin, and at Balkan music and dance camps in the U.S. as well as at schools and folk dance events throughout the Bay Area.

Romani Music and Dance Workshops  TICKETS!

Sebastopol Veterans Memorial Hall   Directions
90 minute workshops. Check-in table at the Hall main entrance.
Vocal $15 - Instrumental $20 - Kids dance workshop free.

• Percussion: Rumen Shopov – (tupan, dumbek, etc.) Bulgarian-Turkish Romani traditional
• Clarinet: Severdjan Klepac Amzoski - Macedonian Romani Balkan fusion
• Accordion: Chris Bajmakovich - Macedonian Romani Balkan fusion
• Dance: Sani Rifati - Romani dances from the Balkans
• Vocal: Nesat (Nesho) Ajvazi, (assisted by Carol Silverman) and Petra Gelbart - Romani Balkan traditional
• Guitar: Vadim Kolpokov - Traditional Russian and Romani swing

FRIDAY MAY 1 dance for kids - 4-5 p.m. FREE! Vocal - 5:30-7 p.m. Percussion - 5:30-7 p.m. Accordion - 5:30-7 p.m. Clarinet - 7-8:30 p.m. Guitar - 7-8:30 p.m.	SATURDAY MAY 2 Vocal - 11-12:30 p.m. Percussion - 11-12:30 p.m. Accordion - 11-12:30 p.m. Clarinet - 11-12:30 p.m. Guitar - 11-12:30 p.m. Dance - 12:30-1:30 p.m. (dance workshop FREE with festival admission! at Ives Park, behind Veterans Building
Private Lessons available - accordion or clarinet, May 1 or 2 in Sebastopol-Graton Info: andrea@voiceofroma.com, 707-544-6416

TICKET PRICES: -

Friday - Romani film night        $10
Saturday day - Ives Park          $12
Saturday evening - Hopmonk Tavern $10
Saturday combo ticket             $20
Instrument, vocal workshops    $15-20
VIP advanced ticket
  (all events, 1 meal, 2 drinks)  $50

ORDER TICKETS ONLINE!

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