Wacky Mulla Eludes Authorities, Slips Across Border to Help Canadian Kids ReadProceeds from Nasrudin Birthday Event to Help Provide Books for Disadvantaged Kids TORONTO (Oct. 15, 2007) – Border guards can't stop a good joke. Maybe that's why Mulla Nasrudin tales appear in such a wide variety of cultures. Many nations love his wit and wisdom so much that they even claim him as their native son. Actually, nobody really knows who he was or whether he really existed at all. But that's not stopping the Institute for Cross-Cultural Exchange (ICE) from holding its second annual birthday bash for the Mulla on October 20th at the North York Central Library Auditorium, 5120 Yonge St., from 7:30pm to 10:30pm. Canada's finest musicians, jokesters, dancers and storytellers will perform at this zany cross-cultural extravaganza featuring Georgian, Greek, Afghan, Arabic, Macedonian & Judeo-Spanish Cultures. Proceeds will help provide books featuring Middle Eastern and Central Asian tales to disadvantaged children nationwide. ICE (www.iceeducation.org) is a new Canadian charity that addresses family literacy and promotes understanding between cultures. To date, ICE has distributed over 13,000 books through 17 partner programs such as the YWCA, United Way's "Success by Six", Frontier College and World Literacy. The books are published by Hoopoe (www.hoopoekids.com), an imprint of the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK – www.ishk.net), an educational non-profit founded more than 35 years ago. They contain beautifully illustrated renditions of traditional stories from Central Asia and the Middle East, collected and adapted for children by Afghan author Idries Shah. Told for centuries, these stories address universal themes such as building self-esteem, persistence in the face of adversity, and exercising thoughtful observation over hasty judgment. They also promote multicultural awareness. Providing positive representations of important but little understood cultures, they teach us what we have in common and what we can learn from each other. But Hoopoe's tales do more than instruct and entertain. According to a growing number of educators and psychologists, as Teaching Stories (a literary genre that is all but unknown in Western cultures) they also develop higher level thinking skills. Similarly, Mulla Nasrudin's multi-dimensional jokes and tales have delighted and provoked thought in young and old throughout the East for centuries (www.ishk.net/mulla_nasrudin.html). Now that he's arrived in Canada, we can join them and help some needy children learn to read, too. For more information about this event, please contact: The October 20th event will feature:Maza Mezé, a Juno Award nominated Greco-Arabic musical ensemble. George Sawa, an internationally acclaimed Qanun master and ethnomusicologist who received Egypt's highest lifetime achievement award in 1995 for contributions to Arabic music. Suzanne Meyers Sawa, a percussionist and vocalist with the "Traditional Arabic Ensembles" since1979, appearing at folk festivals across North America. Roula Said, a vocalist, musician and one of Canada's most accomplished belly-dancers. She is a cofounder of "Maza Mezé" as well as her own dance troupe, "The Roulettes". Aviva Chernick, a performer in the Jewish tradition and cantorial vocalist. Shalva Makharashvili, Andrea Kuzmich & Reid Robins of "Zari", a musical trio specializing in folk music of the Republic of Georgia. Aubrey Davis, a storyteller and award-winning children's author who has told Afghan and Middle Eastern tales across North America. Sandra-Carpenter Davis, a storyteller of epics, myths, and folktales to people of all ages. Aaron Lightstone, a multi-instrumentalist, composer and band leader for the world music group Shakshuka. Drew Richardson, a dramatic fool and clown from Fuzulistan, inspired by an ancient tradition of human imperfection. |