Dearborn, MI: Celebrating the Yemeni culture, the Yemen Student Association at Henry Ford Community College held a cultural extravaganza displaying the beauty of the Yemeni culture on the 29th of January at Mazzarra’s Auditorium. Outside the auditorium, the association displayed many of pictures showing the culture of Yemen.
Approximately 150 people were in attendance some of which are faculty and students of the community college. The event which began with verses from the Noble Qur’an by organizer, Ahmed Shareef followed by an opening statement by the President of the student association, Yasmine Hassan. The keynote speaker, Ms. Jenna Aldarwish, a distinguished researcher who gave a tremendous presentation on Yemen’s culture highlighting on its history and diverse demographics.
The singer, Nasser Shareef had presented a group of his own anasheed ‘Islamic songs’ to the audience who joined him in clapping and repeating as his coral. One of the best ways to express ideas, emotions in a vivid and imaginative way is to write a poem. Mr. Jabr Algalham gave a poem in the Arabic Language highlighting the achievement of Yemeni people throughout the world civilization. After Mr. Algalham concluded his poem, the association had a surprise for the audience, a breath taking video of Yemen titled “One Country, many destinations”, showing Yemen’s high mountains, beautiful beaches, and amazing building architecture. The audience was always wondering what will come next. Four performers went on stage with drums playing in the background to perform the famous traditional folkloric Yemeni dance, Bara’a. Following the dance, Yasmine recited a poem in English titled “Queen Belqis” written by her mother. The comedy segment was a short play titled “Past and Current Yemen” featuring Adel Mozip, Fattah Hogran, and Yousif Albadaani. The last segment of the show was what audience has been waiting for. The famous singer Abdelrahman Alakhfash with his ‘oud instrument gave a remarkable performance of many famous Yemeni songs which impressed all the attendees. “I was surprised when I heard that this event was organized by Yemeni college students, which really motivated me to perform in this great event” said the Yemeni Singer Abdulrahman Alakhfash. “The event was remarkable and unique” Said Khalid Almuntasir, one of the volunteers in the Collegiality section.
The audience then enjoyed a mix of Yemeni traditional food such as Sabaya, BentAlsahn and Middle Eastern food. Major sponsors of the event were: HFCC, Sami Debaja of Sav Mor Pharmacy, AAYSP, Dr. Almasmari, A&T Services, MYSA, YABA , Pharmor Pharmacy, Yemeni American Cultural Center, the Mirror newspaper, and the Yemeni American News. The Association thanks its volunteers for all their help during the event.
