Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Hangout GupShup Cafe
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**http://www.ifest.org/interim/index.html

April 23-24 and April 30 May 1

Houston International Festival
Festival Plaza at Reliant Park, Houston, TX
April 23-24 & April 30 - May 1, 2005; 11am – 8pm

Spotlighting India **

The Houston International Festival is Houston’s largest outdoor festival, drawing a crowd of over 150,000 people each year to join in a celebration of international art and culture that expands over several city blocks. This Houston festival promises a variety of cultural programs, arts and crafts exhibits, music, food, entertainment and fun for all ages. There is something for everyone at the Houston International Festival. Explore the many cultural zones at the 2005 Houston International Festival, such as the Tex-Mex, African-Caribbean, India, International Kids zone and more, and be captivated by all there is to see, taste and learn about cultures all around the globe. Visitors of this Houston festival will find a variety of great food, from international delicacies and fine cuisine to more traditional carnival favorites, visitors will find Indian, Thai, Japanese, Creole, Cajun, South American and many other great cuisines at the Houston International Festival. The 2005 Houston International Festival is sure to have great music, including Zydeco, Reggae, Salsa, Rock ‘n Roll and don’t forget to check out the international dance performances and cooking demonstrations from highly talented performers and master chefs.

Guests will also find a variety of arts and crafts from around the world at this Houston festival. On Fine Arts Avenue art aficionados and other enthusiast will find an abundance of artwork, crafts, handmade pieces and other imports from many different cultures. With seven different markets each specializing in a different cultures, including India, Asian Silk Road, International Market, iFest, Gypsy, African/Caribbean, Bayou, everyone is sure to find something to bring home.

Each year the Houston International Festival spotlights a different country and devotes an entire area of the Houston festival to celebrating the art and culture of this area. This year the 2005 Houston International Festival will honor India. The Houston International Festival will feature an a special India area which will creates a remarkable experience for visitors through many different exhibits and displays expressing the cultural traditions, dance, food, art, music, and entertainment of India.

Houston International Festival Dates & Admission Rates
The 2005 Houston International Festival runs from April 23 - 24 and April 30 - May 1 st from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm. Admission tickets are $10.00 at the gate and $8.00 at H.E.B. grocery stores. Children under 10 receive free admission and group discounts are available.

*Prices are subject to change without notice and from what is listed on this website.

Houston International Festival Contact Information
The Houston Festival Foundation
1111 Bagby, Suite 2550
Houston, Texas 77002
(713) 654-8808

**
The Association of Indian Muslims in America, Houston chapter is a non-profit, non-political and social organisation taking a major part in the Houston International Festival honoring India. All Muslims of Indian origin have been invited to be part of these festivities organised by the City of Houston.**

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

sounds like an ad for our local's international farmer's market :D

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

nichols wht made u post about this festival....u in houston too?

Bored in sydney..
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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

next time post something about National Day of Uganda in G*eneral Section.. *If news of the post is too big to swallow..post it in World affiars section..

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Yes

RIZWAN-MUAZZAM QAWWALI is featured in the festival

http://www.folkloreproductions.com/Html/qawwali.html
RIZWAN-MUAZZAM QAWWALI

Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali is made up of two lead singers (Rizwan and Muazzam), five secondary singers leading the choral response and vigorous hand claps, two harmonium players and a tabla player. They perform in traditional Qawwali style - sitting on the ground rather than on seats - which they believe brings them closer to God. Last year, the intensity of their songs and stage performance led one commentator, only half-jokingly, to call them “the Qawwali Clash.”

The original Qawwali repertoire of Farsi (Persian), Punjabi, and Braj Bhasha (an old form of Hindi) has given way in recent times to Urdu and Arabic. Romantic love is used as a metaphor for spiritual adoration and mystical enlightenment, drawing upon a rich vein of poetic imagery. It is not surprising, therefore, that Qawwali has become a staple of Bollywood film scores.

A song will usually begin with a slow instrumental vamp that introduces the melody. The lead singer then meanders in with the first line and establishes a call-and-response pattern. Phrases are repeated over and over again, punctuated by sudden and furious breaks of florid virtuoso singing by the leader. As the piece progresses the tempo and volume are gradually increased, elevating the listeners to higher and higher states of entrancement.

Sacrifice to Love is Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali’s debut album on Real World Records. Produced by John Leckie, it features four of their own compositions: a ‘hamd’ - a song in praise of Allah; a ‘manqabat’ - a song in praise of a great Sufi saint; a ‘naat’ - a song in praise of Prophet Mohammed; and a ‘ghazal’ - a love song with contemporary lyrics. The group’s passion for this venerable and transcendent genre is unmistakable.

It was the energetic recordings and concerts of the late, great artist, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997) which first introduced Qawwali music to Western audiences. His singing effortlessly transcended language and cultural barriers, and his spirit reached and moved people all over the world. Today, Qawwali is seen as one of the world’s most passionate and vibrant forms of music.

Pakistan’s fresh young ensemble Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali, though still in their teens, are already proving to be masters of this Sufi devotional music. The two young brothers who lead the group, Rizwan Mujahid Ali Khan and Muazzam Mujahid Ali Khan, have an impeccable musical pedigree - their grandfather was an uncle of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and personally taught Nusrat the art of Qawwali singing.

These nephews of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, then, come from a direct family line of Qawwali vocal music that spans over five centuries. Their inventive reinterpretations of spiritual love songs based upon classical Islamic and Sufi texts was first showcased in the UK in July 1998, at the WOMAD Festival in Reading, to much critical acclaim, and has since journeyed to the far corners of the globe.

GuppY MeeT @ Karachi 29th March .......
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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Nichols - thx for posting such news and events. It's nice to know and sometimes helpful. May be if I around Houston at that time I will attend and have some fun instead of running to the airport to cath earlier plane. How is Hilcroft ave these days?

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Anyone going?

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3148796

Downtown iFest hopes for comeback
The event’s 34th year features culture of India
By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

http://www.ifest.org
Steve Ueckert / Chronicle
Sudarsan Pattnaik converts 25 tons of sand into a 20-foot sculpture of the Taj Mahal Friday in preparation for the Houston International Festival.
As dignitaries crowded a makeshift downtown stage Friday to kick off the 34th Houston International Festival, Sudarsan Pattnaik diligently worked at converting 25 tons of Texas sand into a Taj Mahal.

It’s a talent the 28-year-old discovered as a child building sand castles on the beaches on the Bay of Bengal. He has represented his native India in 17 international competitions, creating sculptures of buildings or Hindu gods towering as high as 40 feet.

“This is a temporary art form,” he said. “It can collapse at any time. Everything is temporary. Even life itself is temporary.”

Pattnaik will be one of scores of artists and performers on hand as this year’s festival returns to downtown after a disastrous one-year stint at Reliant Park.

IFest chairman Robert Sakowitz on Friday credited the support of foundations and businesses, including creditors, in helping the festival get back on its feet after the 2004 event that fell $600,000 short of meeting its $1.2 million goal.

Ticket sales for 2004 were down 58.3 percent from the preceding year, and continued a four-year drop in paid admissions. Last year’s event also was plagued by inclement weather.

The festival had moved to Reliant Park after the city essentially quintupled fees for use of park and street space and security and garbage collection. Through the support of Mayor Bill White, the city and festival reached a compromise earlier this year in which the city will claim 10 percent of gate receipts and 4 percent of concession income.

Although the festival had a five-year contract with Reliant Park, Sakowitz said it was understood that it could be modified if the event did not prosper in that venue. He said the festival was able to get out of the contract without penalty.

While the budget for this year’s festival is $2.3 million — down from a pre-Sept. 11, 2001, high of $3.5 million — iFest president Jim Austin said the program is as “elegant and expansive as ever.”

An art exhibit around the City Hall reflection pool precluded its use for festival appearances, Sakowitz said, but several improvised stages have been installed on the porches of historic homes in Sam Houston Park to compensate.

Community pitches in

Sakowitz also credited Houston’s Indian community with helping to ease the cash shortage. He said members of a Hindu temple spent more than three months re-creating the elaborate “swan gate” that graces the festival’s India zone.

This year’s festival features performances by London-born Indian musician Vishal Vaid and the Pakistani group, Rizwan Muazzam Qawwali, as well as Delbert McClinton, Brave Combo, Shemekia Copeland, Ozomatli, Taj Mahal, and Toots and the Maytals.

Bollywood — India’s popular movie industry — will be ce- lebrated with a mock filming of a dance sequence and exhibits of movie costumes and other industry paraphernalia. Indian dance, cuisine, religions, sports, fashion and literature all will be featured. Exhibits will examine the career of the late Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi and explore reincarnation, vegetarianism and other aspects of Indian culture.

“Like India, the United States is a country of many cultures,” White said at Friday’s opening ceremony, addressing a group that included Indian ambassador Ronen Sen and Houston Consul General Skand Tayal.

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Pakistani group Rizwan-Muazzam Qawwali gave a great performance today at Ifest.

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

abay tu hokar bhi aagaya? is fest continuing tomorrow too? is it worth going?

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Re: Houston International Festival Spotlighting India

Yes Sunday is the last day. It’s good, lots of crowd. Good weather, downtown location attracted large crowds. Last year was a big failure as it was in Reliant Arena.

Check these pictures

http://www.indoamerican-news.com/ifest2005/