LIMASSOL, Cyprus — The Cyprus Arts and Music Festival planned for June will feature Baha'i musicians, actors, visual artists and speakers at a venue on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The event -- which will include a film festival -- will be held from 23 to 29 June 2007 at a hotel in Limassol on the island nation of Cyprus.

"The festival is a multidimensional cultural event focusing on the performing and graphic arts, music, films, literature and drama," said Khosrow Afkhampour, program director for the event. "It aims to provide a platform for the proclamation of Baha'i ideas through artistic expression."

Performers will include violinist Bijan Khadem-Missagh, actress Beverly Evans, pianists Nancy Lee Harper and Alfredo Matera, and singers Ahdieh Bahiee and Ranzie Mensah, among others. Ariana Economous, artistic director of a modern dance company on Cyprus, will perform a solo act.

Suheil Bushrui will present a session on the literary study of the Baha'i writings. Other literary topics will include the poetry of Rumi and the work of Kahlil Gibran, author of "The Prophet" who in 1912 met with 'Abdu'l-Baha, at that time the head of the Baha'i Faith.

The festival will also feature arts workshops, planned in collaboration with the Baha'i Academy for Arts in the United Kingdom. Sarah Clive, Rob Weinberg, Aidan Mathews, and Shirin Maanian will be among the participants.

The film festival, planned in collaboration with the Harmony Film Festival in Australia, will feature works produced or directed by Baha'i filmmakers from around the globe.