Photo courtesy of Alva Robinson
Children perform at an Independence Day Gala hosted by the Texas Qazaq Foundation in December.
The Texas Qazaq Foundation will host a festival Sunday to celebrate Nauryz, a spring holiday marking the start of the new year across Central Asian and Persian cultures.
Texas is home to roughly 24,000 Kazakhs, according to the World Population Review. Houston has the third-largest Kazakh community in the country, according to ZipAtlas. Many Kazakhs were drawn to the region because of its oil and gas industry, and higher education opportunities.
Alash Mendybayev, the foundation’s CEO, said Kazakhstan is known for its harsh winters. A nomadic people, Kazakhs historically did not see each other often during the winter, he said. Nauryz marks the end of this isolating season.
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“After the winter, they come together, they see each other, after a long time and that’s why we celebrate,” Mendybayev said.
The festival will be held Sunday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the GSH Event Center in southwest Houston. It will feature performances by several Kazakh musicians, including Sadraddin and Yenlik, who are well-known artists in the country.
The celebration will also include vendors selling Central Asian food and handmade items.
Berik Ospan is the foundation’s president. He said the foundation wants to share the culture with the wider community, while also integrating into the United States’ broader culture.
“We want to become a part of the U.S. culture … (and) bring good values from our country,” he said.