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Gualala Arts
Promoting public interest and participation in the arts since 1961.
Archive of past events: 2004 through 2014
A Mediterranean buffet of appetizers begins the evening when the doors open at 6 p.m. The performance will entice you at 7 p.m. with chanting and soft music (violin, harp, percussion). Be dazzled with poetry, music and food. Dress extravagantly as you will be "taken back in time to a sultan's tent in an enchanted desert." Listen to poetry spanning from a 13th century Persian poet, Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi, also the namesake of the event, to modern evocative works by David Whyte, Alice Walker, D.H. Lawrence and others. Rumi was born in Whaksh, Persia, now Tajikistan, in 1207 to an aristocratic family. He became a professor of religious studies writing about 70,000 verses. His muse was his friendship with a wandering dervish, Shamsuddin of Tabiz.
The Sun of Tabriz, "Shams," inspired Rumi to write a vast poem in six books, the Mathnawi (meaning couplets), which seeks to lead the would be Sufi to sainthood. It holds folklore, Koranic legends, saints' lives, practical wisdom, lofty homilies and even vulgar tales. The Divani Shamsi Tabriz, written by Rumi, contains his gift for lyrical poetry. It has been said that Rumi writes some of the most intense experiences of the spirit recorded by man. Rumi and Sham's friendship has been compared to the relationship of Socrates and Plato.
The drunks have to argue and get into fights According to Professor Majid M. Naini, "Rumi's life and transformation provide true testimony and proof that people of all religions and backgrounds can live together in peace and harmony. Rumi's vision, words, and life can teach us how to reach inner peace and happiness so we can finally stop the continual stream of hostility and hatred and achieve true global peace and harmony." The visiting troupe of poets is Doug von Koss from San Francisco, Barry and Maya Spector from Oakland, Kay Crista, former Sonoma County Poet Laureate Gwynn O'Gara, and Larry Robinson from Sebastopol.
The event has been held annually for the last 13 years and has been a sell out every year. Organizers have referred to the event as the number one poetry and cultural event of the year for the North Bay, and Gualala Arts is thrilled to welcome Rumi's Caravan to the Mendonoma coast for the first time. Local musicians include Marcia Lotter of Anchor Bay, violinist with the Santa Rosa Symphony, Myra Joy, cellist from Ft. Bragg, and Tom Landecker, percussionist, from the Sea Ranch. Gualala Arts is happy to welcome its friends from Sebastopol and beyond and is proud to present this performance as a fundraiser for Gualala Arts. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth 7 - 17 in advance, $5 more on the day of the performance. For advance purchase, go to Brown Paper Tickets or call them at 800-838-3006. To purchase in person, visit the Gualala Arts Center or Dolphin Gallery in Gualala. Special lodging packages which include tickets to this performance are available from the Timber Cove Inn.
Lovers don't finally meet somewhere,
The Gualala Arts Center, located at 46501 Old State Highway in Gualala, CA, |
The Gualala Arts
Rumi is the founder of the order of whirling dervishes who seek, through mystic dance and song, to place themselves at the center of the divine order of things. Dervish Chelsea Rose (photo at left) will share the Sufi practice of "Turning" at Gualala Arts Center as part of the Global Harmony Series.
