Voice of Roma Spring 2012

Voice of Roma is pleased to announce a line-up of Roma-centric events which will please the eye, get you dancing and make you think twice about everything you’ve ever been told about “Gypsies”. 

First-up, the Petaluma Historical Museum has been hosting “Crossing the Borders”, a month-long series of concerts, art exhibits & lectures, music & dance classes, and presentations about Romani culture. It continues through April 14. 

The 30th anniversary of International Roma Day will be celebrated with evening programs at the Croatian American Cultural Center in San Francisco on Friday April 6th and on Saturday April 7th at the Petaluma Historical Museum. 

Voice of Roma’s spring program finishes with a flourish at the 16th Annual Herdeljezi Roma Festival in Sebastopol on May 4th and 5th. The Roma Festival is a two-day festival of Romani arts, music, films and lectures in celebration of HERDELJEZI, 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. 

The “Crossing the Borders” events begin at the Petaluma Historical Museum, located 20 Fourth Street, in Petaluma, on March 15th with an opening reception for an exhibit by Romani artists, Tina Burbank and Claire-Xylena Apotheloz.  Additional “Crossing the Borders” program events feature concerts by the Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys” band and Inspector Gadje, Balkan-style dance instruction by Kosovo Rom and Voice of Roma founder, Sani Rifati with his son, Benji Rifati on trumpet, as well as scholarly presentations by Carol Silverman, Professor Ian Hancock and Michaela Grobbel. 

The “Crossing the Borders” events represent an exciting new collaboration between Voice of Roma and the Petaluma Historical Museum. 

“We are absolutely thrilled to work with Petaluma Historical Museum Director Mark Tomlinson and the board,” said Sani Rifati, President of Voice of Roma, and “it is our hope that the success of ‘Crossing the Borders’ will lead to future collaborations between the two organizations.”

International Roma Day celebrations are planned for April 6th at the Croatian American Cultural Center, located at 60 Onondaga Avenue, in San Francisco and on Saturday the 7th at the Petaluma Historical Museum.  The Roma Day events at CACC will feature the Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys” band with special guest Danny Lee Fender, as well as Brass Menažeri, San Francisco’s original & hottest Balkan Romani (“Gypsy”) Brass Band.  There will be opportunities to learn traditional dances from VoR Founder, Sani Rifati and to enjoy authentic Romani/Balkan food by prepared by Julia Pecak. 

The 16th Annual Herdeljezi Roma Festival is set for May 4th and 5th at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall and Ives Park in Sebastopol. Romani musicians and dancers from around the world will be in Northern California to take part in the traditionl Romani cultural arts festival, herdeljezi, beginning with a film festival Friday evening, and on Saturday, daytime and evening programs with food, dance and musical workshops and live performances.

This year’s festival features: Ruzsa Nikolic-Lakatos & the Gypsy Family, Gypsy Boys with special guest Danny Lee Fender, Vadim Kolpakov performing with Via Romen, Sani & Benji Rifati, Inspector Gadje, and world-famous Romani belly-dancer Reyhan Tuzsuz of Istanbul.

The International Roma Day events and the Herdeljezi Roma Festival are produced by Voice of Roma, an educational and charitable non-profit organization established in 1996 to promote and present Romani cultural arts and traditions, is supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, the James Irvine Foundation, and local business and community sponsors.

Prices for ticketed events range from $10 -$50 at the door and online through Brown Paper Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/  Proceeds benefit the educational, cultural and humanitarian aid programs of Voice of Roma. 

For further information about our Spring 2012 events and Voice of Roma programs visit the VoR website: http://www.voiceofroma.com or call the Voice of Roma office at (707) 823-7941.

Schedule of events 

Crossing the Borders Exhibition and Program Schedule

All events are at the Petaluma Historical Museum, 20 Fourth Street, Petaluma, California 94952.

April 5, Thursday

7:00pm Brass Menažeri and Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys” with Danny Lee Fender, Traditional dances taught and led by Sani Rifati. Voice of Roma presentation about International Roma Day. For sale: authentic Romani/Balkan food by Julia Pecak, CD’s, handcrafts and books on Romani culture…...More info pending.

April 7, Saturday (Special event in honor of International Roma Day)

3:00 pm  Presentation by Michaela Grobbel - “A Life in Pictures: the remarkable paintings by Romani artist Ceija Stojka,” holocaust survivor of three concentration camps.

7:00 pm Concert with Stevens Family “Gypsy Boys” band from Los Angeles, with Danny Lee Fender

April 14th, Saturday

12:00 pm Mini-festival with Balkan brass band from Bay Area, “Inspector Gadje,” authentic Romani/Balkan food by Julia Pecak, Romani/Balkan finger-food, drinks.

16th annual Roma Festival “Herdeljezi” in Sebastopol, CA

May 4-5th, Friday & Saturday

Ives Park, and the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, 282 High Street, Sebastopol RAIN OR SHINE. Tickets: $10-50, More info pending.