Festival Time

March kicks off with the Cairo Jazz Festival and wraps up with D-CAF

By Ibrahim El Shakankiry

  Cairo Jazz Festival T he sixth edition of the Cairo Jazz Festival (CJF) runs March 13–15, with 14 acts from Egypt, North Africa and Europe taking the stage at Al Azhar Park. Local favorites Rami Atalla, Us W Lazq and Alexandria’s Masar Egbari are representing Egypt kicking off [caption id="attachment_14784" align="alignright" width="200"] Yuri Honing Quartet (Holland)[/caption] the action on March 13, while British saxophone player and two-time MOBO award winner Soweto Kinch, France’s Sylvain Beuf Electric Quartet and OUM from Morocco are among the international headliners. Alongside the music, the CJF is organizing musical workshops and lectures by the festival participants, and screening several documentaries on jazz culture and history. Other arts workshops on March 14-15 offer children and families a chance to learn more about reading music, drawing, fine arts, and recycling paper and metal. 2014 Cairo Jazz Festival March 13-15 at Al Azhar Park www.cairojazzfest.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/cairojazzfest Twitter: @cairojazzfest Youtube: www.cairojazzfest.com   Downtown Contemporary Art Festival The Downtown Contemporary Art Festival (D-CAF) is back for its fourth edition, running from March 20 to April 11 in the streets and other venues around downtown Cairo. This is the nation’s largest international multi-disciplinary arts festival, with more than 180 individual artists and about 40 bands from 18 different countries. This year, D-CAF has a brand new Middle East focus program, running April 3–7. The program includes four world premieres of theater productions from Syria and Egypt, which are co-produced by Arab and European artists, plus concerts by Middle Eastern singers and bands, and films by Egyptian and regional directors. The 2014 D-CAF features the world premiere of Egyptian director Ahmed El Attar’s play The Last Supper; the interactive theater piece C’est du Chinois by Edit Kaldor of The Netherlands; and the premiere of Violence Lointaine, a collaboration dance piece by Omar Ghayatt (Egypt), Delavallet Bidiefono (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Maxime Denuc (France). The festival is also hosting workshops on mobile filmmaking in Cairo, Alexandria, Assiut and Minya. [caption id="attachment_14786" align="alignright" width="300"] Skip & Die[/caption] Some 80 events — including independent theater, music, dance, film and visual arts exhibitions — are being presented at venues such as the Qasr El Nil Theatre, Radio Cinema and Theatre, Falaki Theatre, the Kodak Building, The Egyptian Stock Exchange and Viennoise Space. et D-CAF March 20–April 11, multiple venues Official website: www.d-caf.org Facebook: dcaf.egypt Twitter: @dcafFestival Instagram: DCAFFEST Blog: www.blog.d-caf.org