Cultural Festivals

Banu focuses on producing and organizing  cultural events and reviving forgotten ancient Persian celebrations, traditions, art and music that show a side of the region’s history not easily accessible to public.

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors were known as members of the happiest civilization in the world, due to the variety of celebrations they held throughout the year. These celebrations were mostly related to natural and cosmic phenomenon, with each celebration falling on a specific date in the ancient calendar. The point of each celebration was to bring families and tribes together, appreciate nature and to accomplish difficult tasks (such as environmental cleanups, collecting seasonal fruits, protecting animals etc.).

Over the course of time, some of these celebrations were lost or merged into other celebrations and were more or less forgotten by the people. Many of the religious celebrations seen in modern day  have roots in the traditional celebrations of ancient Persia.

This region has always been a multi-lingual, multi-cultural and multi-religion civilization and this fact was never used as an excuse to hinder any celebrations or gatherings. People  of all races and colors had a sense of responsibility when it came to preserving these traditions and celebrations.

Our professional team pays attention finest detail of each program. Please stay tuned for updates on upcoming Banu future programs. We would also appreciate  your feedback.

“I am deathless, I am the eternal lord, for I have spread the seed of the word”
“ Ferdowsi”
Featured Event
Sepandarmazgan

For the second year on row, Banu Productions and Events showcased “The Historical and Traditional Persian Theatrical Costume Show” in February 2015 in Celebration of Sepandarmazgan.  This show was a theatrical performance that demonstrated different demographic aspects of Persian culture and communities in each era and highlighted precise characteristics related to that era.

The show was a fundraising event for “Society for the Protection of Working and Street Children”. Sependarmazgan is ancient forgotten Iranian festival that is celebration of mother earth and love.

“The Historical and Traditional Persian Theatrical Costume Show”

 

Past
Events
Norouz Festival

To celebrate this festival, Banu arranged a fundraising show on March 2014. The play began with the customs wear from 4000 years ago during the Elam era and ended with traditional dance and showcasing Iranian costumes worn today by different tribes and races around Persia. Persian fashion history is evidence of the richness of the culture. The ancient Iran garments were both elaborate and colorful. Rather than being distinguished by gender, clothing styles were distinguished by class and status.
Norouz “the new day” is the name of Iranian New Year celebration. It is  celebrated on the day of the astronomical (Northward equinox) which usually occurs on March 20th  or 21st depending on the moment Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day marking the start of Spring. There are many traditions involves in celebrating Norouz the most important is; “Haft Seen” the major traditional table setting for this occasion. The Haft Seen table includes seven specific items all starting with the letter seen (س) in the Persian Language.

Yalda Festival

Banu Productions & Events arranged for celebration of Yalda (the longest night of the year in northern hemisphere) in December 2014.

Based on tradition, for the celebration of this night, a special spread that includes a mirror, candles, Divan Hafez poetry, fruits, nuts and flowers. The red color in the fruit symbolizes the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life. The trailer below demonstrates Banu’s way of celebration for this special night by reading poetry, a magic show, singing and dancing until well after midnight.

Mehregan Festival

Banu Productions & Events organized this celebration on October 2014. Mehrgan is an ancient Persian festival that corresponds to the day that farmers harvested and collected their crops.

 

In this celebration, the participants were requested to wear colorful clothes and the host exhibited a decorative, colorful table. A copy of the “Shahnameh”, a mirror, candle holder and a sormeh-dan (a traditional eyeliner) were placed on the table together with rosewater, sweets, flowers, vegetables and fruits, such as pomegranates, apples and nuts.

A special Persian soup called “Ashe” made with seven different grains was served to the guests. Furthermore, a few silver coins and lotus seeds were placed in a dish of water scented with a flower and candle. The ceremony began, with special Mehregan prayer.

Being Bijan, Being Manijeh

This version was performed in Dubai by four enthusiastic young actors in April 2015.  It was directed Ali Fomany and produced by Banu Productions. This play was based on a love story from Ferdowsi‘s Shahnameh.  Bijan was the son of Giv, a famous Persian knight during the reign of Kai Khosrow, the Shah of Persia, and Banu Goshasp, the heroine daughter of Rostam. Bijan falls in love with Manijeh, the daughter of Afrasiab, the king of Turan that was the greatest enemy of Persia.