Nowruz celebrated in Washington, D.C.
The event was attended by Members of Congress, Obama Administration officials, high ranking diplomats, business executives, scholars and artists. There was also a musical performance that reflected the cultures and traditions of the countries that celebrate Nowruz.
The Nowruz Commission was started in 2008 by Kazakhstan's Ambassador Erlan Idrissov and U.S. Eximbank vice-president Bijan Kian, when they met each at a reception honoring the holiday in the White house. Two years later, Ambassador Idrissov and Mr. Kian co-founded the Nowruz Commission along with Nasser Kazeminy, chairman of the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations at Ellis Island. Its purpose is "to keep this time tested, revered, universal tradition alive and to educate the greater communities in the United States about the significance of Nowruz and the Spirit of Spring." In addition, the Commission was set up "to promote and preserve the time honored tradition of celebrating not only the physical arrival of Spring, but also using Nowruz as a platform to make a difference in the countries and among the people who recognize and celebrate Nowruz. To use the time honored universal traditions of Nowruz like 'giving,','caring' and 'renewal' of friendships to make a positive change in the participating nationalities and beyond."
The first celebration of "New Day" took place in 2010 at the Library of Congress and was a great success. This year, the celebrations included U.S. presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Susan Elliott , Rep. Dan Burton, Rep. Robert Aderholt and Rep. Ed Royce, among others. The speakers at the event highlighted the importance of Nowruz, which symbolizes renewal, awakening of nature and the strengthening of friendships.
The guests enjoyed performances by the Silk Road Dance Company, which included Kazakh folk dances "White River" and "Black Eyes." The audience also saw a performance of kobyz by Yerbolat Myrzaliyev, a widely admired musical talent from Eurasia. Since his early childhood, Myrzaliyev has been a virtuoso of the kobyz, a "forefather of the violin." According to Western scholars, the kobyz is the most ancient string bow instrument in the history of music. Its music is exotic, yet powerful.
Ambassador Idrissov congratulated the attendees. He also read a message from Kazakh President Nazarbayev to President Obama welcoming the establishment of Nowruz Commission. The message read, in part: "The noble activities of the Nowruz Commission will provide an impetus for further strengthening of the friendship between our countries."
The celebration of Nowruz also continued on March 18, 2011, at the Embassy of Kazakhstan with the "Central Asian Music Festival" jointly organized with Asia Society. Welcoming the guests, Jack Garrity, Executive Director of the Asia Society of Washington, discussed the importance of knowing the Central Asian people through their culture. Ambassador Idrissov talked about the symbolism and meaning of the Nowruz festival for Kazakh nation.
At the festival, Yerbolat performed the kobyz and talked about its importance in the culture of Kazakhstan. Adam Grode, an ethnomusicologist and a former researcher at the Smithsonian Asian Cultural History Program in Washington, D.C., talked about parallels between Kazakh and American music as well as the importance of dombra, Kazakh musical instrument, in the life of Kazakhs. He played the dombra and performed such well-known folk compositions as "Balbiraun" and "Adai." The subsequent Q&A session was followed by a reception, which introduced to Asia Society members delicious Kazakh food such as palau and bauirsak.
Overall, through such events, the American public is becoming more aware about the great traditions and rich cultural heritage of the Kazakh nation, the press service of the Kazakh Embassy in Washington D.C reports.