Festivals in Azerbaijan

Rain Sultanov Group & Udai Mazumdar Baku JAzz Festival 2005

The Baku Jazz Festival together with 115 members from 34 different countries set up a forum and musical festival that comprises multiple phases such as competition for getting "Best Jazz Performer" award, exhibitions of art and photo, jazz concerts with the attendance of world-known jazz performers around the world.

The festival is included in the Europe Jazz Network and annually held since 2005 in Baku.[1][2]

Gabala International Music Festivals are held since 2009. It includes international contest of young pianists, mugham, classic, chamber, jazz and other concerts. During the event, Gabala hosts renowned symphonic and philharmonic orchestras all around the world such as Tbilisi City Hall Jazz Orchestra "BIG-BAND (Georgia), Jóvenes Clásicos Del Son (Cuba), Baku Chamber Orchestra (Azerbaijan), and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. The participators of the festival usually plays the world-known works of Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Brahms, Schumann, Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Tofig Guliyev and Vagif Mustafazade and other famous composers.[3]

Pomegranate Festival is an annual cultural festival that is held in Goychay, Azerbaijan.

The pomegranate festival is held in Goychay district in fall since 2006. During the event different varieties of pomegranates (Veles, Shirin, Gyuleysha and Shihbaba) and pomegranate products such as narsharab, juice concentrates, jam, jelly, grenadine, wine, seeds in syrup are displayed in the exhibition. The festival also includes multiple ceremonies, competitions, dancing events, fairs, parades, performances, etc.[4][5] Goychay Pomegranate Festival was inscribed in 2020 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.[6][7]

Apple Festival takes place in Guba district (northern part of the republic of Azerbaijan). The festival is mainly devoted to display various fruits and most importantly apples produced within the district. The event also comprises several competitions, such as "the biggest apple" or "the most delicious apple jam".[8]

The event is dedicated to the famous Azerbaijan composer Gara Garayev and takes place every two years. It is co-organized by Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and the country's Permanent Mission to UNESCO. The participants of the festival is also familiarized with a photo exhibition and documentary films about the composer’s life and works. The Gara Garayev International Music Festival was first held in 1986 with the initiatives of composers Faradzh Karayev, Oleg Felzer and conductor Rauf Abdullayev.[9][10]

International Music Festival dedicated to the Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov takes place in September, since 2009, in different cities of Azerbaijan and major events are held in Baku. The festival is promoted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism together with the Heydar Aliyev Foundation.[11]

The festival is decided to be held in 2009 by the support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation. In 2015, the festival brought together musicians from 40 different countries (US, Turkey, China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and Morocco).[12][13]

The “Maiden Tower” Art Festival is held annually starting from 2010 in Baku, Icheri Sheher. In the first festival there were over 20 artists from 18 countries. On July 4, 2013, the opening ceremony of the IV Maiden's Tower International Art Festival was held La Croisette Boulevard in Cannes (France). The festival aimed to draw attention to the endangered gazelles, therefore, artists decorated the models of these animals together with traditional models of the Maiden's Tower. The Maiden Tower 6th International Art Festival was held on June 11–14, 2015 in Icheri Sheher. In the event, artists decorated the models of pomegranate and gazelle, which were the symbols of the first European games “Baku-2015”.[14]

The Hazelnut Festival takes place in autumn annually since 2017 in Zagatala district which is known as the “Hazelnut capital of Azerbaijan” among locals. Numerous hazelnut products in addition to different varieties of hazelnut, chestnut and walnut are displayed in the exhibition. The festival also features different kind of events, painting and handicrafts exhibitions and contests, as well as, field trip to hazelnut garden in Parzivan area of the Zagatala experimental station and walnut processing plant of Azersun.[15][16][17]

• Kata festival - This festival is organized annually in Nakhchivan. Kata (Azerbaijani: kətə) - flat pie with greens is made with shomu (wild spinach), mixed greens, desert candle, pumpkin, asphodel, nettle, bean or lentil in a dough wrapped in the shape of an envelope and cooked in a tandir. Kata festival is aimed to show and promote the preparation manner of various types of the kata specific to different regions of NAR. The festival is held at the Historical-Architectural Museum Complex "Nakhchivangala" in April.[18][19][20][21]
• Grape and Wine Festival - was held in Meysari village of Shamakhi district recognized as the wine and grape growing capital of Azerbaijan in August 2019 by the support of Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The festival was aimed to encourage local grape and wine production, as well as, to promote the history of wine producing in Azerbaijan. The festival featured wine exhibition, a parade of wine producers, exhibition of different types of folk art of Azerbaijani districts including copper craft, carpet weaving and pottery.[22][23]
• Persimmon festival – As one of the major producers and exporters of persimmon, Azerbaijan hosts Persimmon festival annually since 2017. This festival is organized in Balakan in October–November when the most delicious persimmon grows. In the festival, different varieties of persimmon, culinary products and different compositions made of persimmon are displayed. It also features a field trip to the persimmon garden in the Gerekli village and planting persimmon trees.[24][25][26]

• Novruz in Azerbaijan
• Public holidays in Azerbaijan