AKIPRESS.COM - The Central Asian Spring Festival will be held on March 20 in London.

The aim of this event is to provide support to handpicked charitable programmes across Central Asia, organizers say.

The festival, Novruz (also known in various countries as Neuruz, Nauryz, Navruz, Novruz, Nooruz or Nowruz), is a renowned day with a rich heritage is celebrated through the centuries. Novruz is a holiday of the coming of spring, and it is widely celebrated in various Central Asian countries (and thus the spelling of the name may vary). At its core, the event encompasses concepts of peace, charity, purity and love. Historically, the significance of this holiday was at par with the celebration of the coming of a new year - the blossoming and awakening of nature was treated as the period of rebirth and a time of new beginnings.

In London, representatives of various organisations and societies combined their efforts to carry this tradition onwards. The success of this venture grew year on year, and became widely regarded as the Central Asian Spring Festival in London (CASF).

The festival is represented by the five member countries - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan (in no particular order), joined by Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan this year.

This year marks the seventh annual CASF celebration, with the festival being held in its usual place, on the grounds of the University College London (Gower Street). The organisers are confident that based on the turnout of previous years the event is likely to attract at least around 2,000 attendees.

On the day of the event, guests will be entertained by a variety of performances, various fun cultural activities (Koresh wrestling competition, tug-of-war, backgammon championship) and a cultural exhibition. More importantly, all guests will be offered a variety of remarkable and exotic dishes of Central Asian cultures - plov, cooked by an Uzbek cook on the spot, samsa, manty, dolma, qurutob, pakhlava and much more.

Once the Festival is finished, most of the profits that were generated from the festival are donated to charities in the Central Asian region. Historically, the CASF Team made donations to orphan homes, educational programmes and disadvantaged children with various medical conditions, so far more than 25 donations were made in the last six years.

One of the prime objectives of CASF is to promote Central Asian culture in the UK. We aim to raise awareness about the region by organizing cultural and educational events. Plans for 2016 include organizing cultural workshops in an attempt to educate attendees about Central Asian music, literature, cuisine, art and other parts of culture.

Performances

Kyrgyzstan:

1. Nazgul Zhuzumova, Aizada Israilova - Kyrgyz folk dance

Kazakhstan:

1. Zhantuar Zhumanalin - violin
2. Dinara Abish - flute player
3. Yernar Baktiyarov, Yerzhan Abish, Yessen Kambakov - dombra instrumental performance

Turkey:

1. Dr.Erden Ozdemir - live music

Uyghyr:

1. London Uyghur Ensemble(Rahima Mahmut, Dr.Rachel Harris, Iskander Ding, Nizamidin Samatov) - Classic uyghur songs and dances

Iran:

1. Aryan Heydari - Folk instrumental performance.

The Festival is held on:

DATE: Sunday, 20 March 2016

TIME: 12:00 to 16:00

PLACE: University College London (Main Quad), Gower Street, WC1E 6BT

Admission is free (food will be sold separately on the spot).