MAY 2nd - Friday night  7 - 11:30 pm

@ Vets Building, 282 High Street, Sebastopol



Thanks to Zeljko and Kafana Balkan for support

MAY 3rd - Saturday Daytime Program 1 - 8 pm

@ Ives Park, downtown Sebastopol (directions to Sebastopol)

12:00 - 1:30pm percussion workshop
12:30 -2:00pm clarinet, guitar & vocal workshops
1:00 - 1:30pm free dance workshop in the park - for more info click "workshop" tab above.

$15 entrance - students and seniors $12 - children under 12 free (no one turned away for lack of funds)

folk dancing, authentic Romani/Balkan food (sold separately) for more info click "food" tab above, henna art, unique handcrafts, and so much more

MAY 3rd - Saturday Evening Program from 9pm-1am

@ French Garden Restaurant, Sebastopol ( directions to French Garden )

$12 entrance;
Herdeljezi Festival combo ticket for Saturday day & evening events $25

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 11th Annual California Herdeljezi Festival, a traditional Romani (Gypsy) folk arts festival will be held May 5th, 2007 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 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 , Soloist, and belly-dance troop, performing in the Romani tradition; Edessa and Anoush, two popular Bay Area Balkan Bands; Jaime del Rio and his Flamenco musicians and dancers; and 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.