Middle East Arts Festival for Peace, May 23, 2009: photo Joel MosesIn a paean to peace, Angelenos of diverse cultural and religious backgrounds came together Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 as Levantine Cultural Center celebrated its eighth anniversary. The “Middle East Arts Festival for Peace”—a benefit for the center—included such performing artists as Tony Khalife from Lebanon, Mamak Khadem and Hamid Saeidi from Iran, and the Silk Road Music & Dance Ensemble, representing Turkey, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, with Serpil Borazon on vocals, Nyofu Tyson on saz, Neil Siegel on tar, and Robyn Friend on daf. Friend also performed a traditional dance from Uzbekistan. Kutsal, the indie rock singer from Istanbul, sang songs in both English and Turkish. Armenia’s folk/rock star, Gor Mkhitarian, whose latest album is Spirit, poured his heart into several songs in Armenian, while film composer and keyboardist Richard Horowitz ("The Sheltering Sky", "Any Given Sunday") played the ney in both Moroccan and Persian modes. Actress Shiva Rose from the film “David & Layla” read one of her own poems, and performing poet Niloufar Talebi of The Translation Project read in Farsi and English. The world electronica fusion group, Naked Rhythm, whose compositions can be found on Tanta Lounge and Buddha Bar compilations, raised the tempo of the night with percussive electronica in both Arab and Indian modes.

Fariborz Davoodian, the Iranian American actor and producer of such films as "America So Beautiful" and "Otis E.", served as the master of ceremonies. Altering between philosophical gravitas and comic quips that had the audience in stiches, Fariborz seemed happy in the role.

Dancer Danielle Sherrod: photo Vince GonzalesDanielle Sherrod performed several exquisite belly dances. Belly dancer Kristina Canizares, a recent transplant from the Bay Area, also dazzled the audience.

The Jordanian DJ Al-Fareed, who podcasts the Arab and Islamic radio show, Radio Al-Fareed, spun a rich mezze of music from across the geopolitical Middle East (from Casablanca to Kabul).

Middle East costumer and designer Karol Bartoszynski (camofox.com) provided a luxurious wardrobe of galabeyah, keffiyeh and other tradtional wear.

Among the festival’s highlights was a moving tribute to the late Wally Marks, Jr., in which activists Rebecca Tobias (Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics), Deborah Brous (Bustan) and Nile El Wardani (Levantine Cultural Center) each described their relationship as friends of Wally Marks, a remarkably humble yet effective philanthropist and activist, who supported peace groups in the U.S. and the Mideast. One of Marks' proudest achievements was "New Ground," a joint interfaith project of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the Progressive Jewish Alliance.

The banquet...: photo Joel MosesMarks was the posthumous recipient of first annual Levantine Cultural Center Humanitarian Award, for the cumulative effect of his activism and philanthropy. His wife Suzy Marks accepted the award on behalf of the Marks family.

Artistic director Jordan Elgrably, the center's co-founder, spoke of the "myth of separation" among Arabs/Muslims, Jews, Christians and others, suggesting that we are all "cultural commuters" who share much more than we perhaps realize. Elgrably called for major funding to underwrite the center's need for professional staff and to expand public programs. He reminded the audience that the long-term vision of Levantine Cultural Center is the creation of a permanent cultural arts complex in Southern California, a center devoted to peace and the Middle East/North Africa.

The festival included a tent devoted to peace NGOs as well as a tent on Afghanistan hosted by Afghan-American activist Mariam Atash Nawabi.

The evening’s hosts were Beverly Hills cardiologist Dr. Robert Siegel and his wife Theresa DeBell.

The documentary film crew “Rooted in Peace,” led by director Greg Reitman, shot the festival and interviewed several key guests, including Stanley Sheinbaum—a long-time supporter of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The event was shot by photographers Joel Moses and Vince Gonzalez.

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