Sunlit Nights: The Newest Program of Owrang Institute of Arts and Culture

Sunlit Nights is the newest program of Owrang Institute of Arts and Culture. From now on it will be held on the second Friday of every month at Melody Universe on El Camino Avenue in Sacramento.

The first program in the series was Bazm-e Khayyam, performed on October 9, 2026. The evening opened with a three-minute film by Rokhand Gharavi. Sadegh Hatefi appeared on stage both as Khayyam and as himself, and Manijeh Golchin joined him as both actor and singer. They were accompanied by Mahan Nejad, Nima Hekmat, Kourosh Markazi and Salar on Persian instruments.

In the first act the audience spent 45 minutes with Khayyam, his thought, his quatrains and his times. The second act, which coincided with the festival of Mehregan, turned to the mark Khayyam's ideas have left on contemporary Persian music, and Manijeh Golchin sang examples of it, among them songs made famous by Marzieh, Delkash and Nader Golchin.

The warm and spirited response of the audience, who sang along with some of the songs and above all with the Bushehri Khayyam-khani, added to the joy of the night.

In the year ahead, Sunlit Nights will turn each month to one of Iran's great poets, some of them less widely known, and in the course of a musical play will introduce the audience to the poet's life, verse and times.

The next night is Friday, November 13. Public ticket sales open on October 24. Tickets for members and students are $45 and are available now. For reservations call (916) 839-0022.