Flying Carpet is a volunteer-based collective of world-class musicians, artists, and visionaries who believe in the power of music as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of displaced and refugee children.

San Francisco, CA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/16/2018 --Sirkhane social circus school or Her Yerde Sanat Derngi facilitates the first Flying Carpet Children Music Festival 2018 in Mardin province near the border of Syria between September 9th-15th. The opening concert will happen on September 9th, 2018 at Mardin Museum Arkopark and the festival will close by a concert at Mitani Cultural Center in Nusaybin.

Flying Carpet is a volunteer-based collective of world-class musicians, artists and visionaries who believe in the power of music as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of children all around the world and specifically for children who are mostly in need in war zones and conflicted areas. The festival is founded and curated by Iranian-American composer, Sahba Aminikia based in San Francisco, California, United States.

This year's festival includes 30 musicians and artists from all around the world including United States, Serbia, Austria, France, Italy, Turkey, Iraq and Iran. Artists such as: Aleksandra Vrebalov (Serbia/USA), Sahba Aminikia (Iran/USA), Luciano Chessa (Italy/USA), Hamidreza Ardalan (Iran), Mamak Khadem (Iran/USA), Golnar Shahyar (Iran/Austria), Layale Chaker (Lebanon/USA), Mahan Mirarab (Iran/Austria), Amir Wahba (Austria), Kristine Arth (USA), Soheila bajelan (Iran), Vafa Aminikia (Iran/Germany), Lincoln Andrews (USA), Anita Biebl (Austria), Kevin Bishop (USA), Stephen Braitsch (USA), Ameen Mokdad (Iraq), Helen Newby (USA), Jaran Oran (Turkey/Austria), Elinor Speirs (USA), Alexis Paul (France), Yassi Pishvai (Iran/Germany), Tobias Pöcksteiner (Austria), Mujahit Poyraz (Turkey), Avideh Saadatpajouh (Iran), Abi Shiman (USA), Halil Tan (Turkey), Burju Yilmaz (Turkey).

The festival consists of 100 workshops and 12 performances including two major ones; opening at Mardin Museum and the closing at Nusaybin Mitani Cultural Center. The festival aims to engage with more than 1000 children through workshops and 12,000 children in all Sirkhane center in Mardin, Istasyon, Nusaybin and rural areas. This project has become possible by grant received from the United States Embassy in Ankara and in collaboration with Mardin Museum.

About Flying Carpet
The Flying Carpet Festival is a learning platform for artists and children, alike, to create a harmonious experience through music, light, beauty, and truth. They organize festivals specializing in forward thinking design, music and art dedicated towards educating children who need it most. They've selected artists, musicians and visionaries from all over the world, with the common goal of creating the best possible musical educational experience for the locals, children and visitors of Mardin, Turkey.

"Flying carpet is for everyone, but especially the children. We believe that children growing up in the most difficult circumstances are the most inspired to bring change to their surroundings. We invest in the most vulnerable children in one of the most difficult regions of the world to be a child. We collaborate with children in order to experience and develop a creative process which can provide every child with unlimited opportunities and methods of expression in the most meaningful way possible. We provide children with many musical solutions to life, not necessarily to create a musician out of them but simply to provide them with creative methods to express their own story and feelings without being directly exposed to their audience and to their surroundings."

http://www.flyingcarpetfestival.org

CHILDREN EVERYWHERE SHOULD BE OFFERED CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER DEVELOP THEIR SOCIAL AND CREATIVE SKILLS. — SAHBA AMINIKIA, FOUNDER, FLYING CARPET

For more info: www.flyingcarpetfestival.org

Contact: Sahba Aminikia – info@flyingcarpetfestival.com - +90 (542) 347 47 59

About Sirkhane
Sirkhane Social Circus School helps restore confidence in refugee youth by teaching circus tricks in Mardin. Our mission is to provide safe, friendly and embracing environment for children, who are effected by conflicts. Replace their damaged childhood with happiness and enrich the children's imagination with colors of social circus pedagogy.

Sirkhane Social Circus School is carrying out activities in Turkey and Iraq. Children have opportunities to collaborate and form friendships with each other, beyond gender, social and cultural differences. In doing so, they manifest peace, harmony, open mindedness and cheerfulness in their local and global communities. Laughter is childhood, laughter is happiness.

For more info: www.heryerdesanat.org

Contact: Pinar Demiral – pinardemiral@sirkhane.org - +90 (542) 287 31 49