Larry & I were very lucky to have participated in Nauryz - during Logan's adoption. We have very fond memories of the women and young ladies all in dance attire - performing traditional Kazakh dance. We also went from yurt to yurt to celebrate - we even ate horse. :) That week we were able to go to the races to see the horses race - another Kazakh tradition. Please remember that you may be able to find local resources to celebrate:

http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/content/events/PDF/072/nauryz.pdf

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If you have adopted from Kazakhstan or are in the paperwork stages -- please mark your calendars to attend the 7th Annual Family Weekend – Friday, June 22nd through Sunday, June 24th. We have secured a group rate of $71.99 for families who will travel to the event at Comfort Suites Inn located in Twinsburg, OH – please call 330-963-5909 by May 24th to guarantee the group rate. To receive this rate book under the Midwest Kaz Group. These are suite rooms and include a hot breakfast buffet in the rate.... more

As always a big thank you to Susan for creating her website and keeping it up to date with information for parents who are considering adopting, have adopted – the greatest joy is keeping our children connected and she has a link on her website for local groups through-out the USA:

US Regional Groups for families with children from Kazakhstan: http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/groups.html

Since August of 2001, this group of CA families has shared info and was... more

If you are scrapbooking or obtaining information for a report for your child about his or her birth country – as always – I like to try to provide some informational links:

Oriental Express – Central Asia http://www.kazakhstan.orexca.com/

or

Silk Road Paintings (Kazakhstan) http://www.kazakhcrafts.com/

They both contain a wealth of information and I hope to touch base on a few items and information that may interest you:

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Larry and I were lucky enough to experience Navruz first hand during our younger son’s adoption in 2004. We truly had a wonderful time – seeing the dancing in the street, street performers, hot air balloon and yurts set up all around the city square and also along the park in Taraz. We also attended a national horse racing competition, which has become part of the New Year celebration.

Did you know that this spring “New Year” holiday has been celebrated for more than 2,500 years? It is know by the following spellings – Noruz, Nowruz, Nowroos and Nawruz. It originated in Persia and is associated with the ancient Zoroastrian religion. Navrus means “new day” in Farsi. Today, Navrus... more

From the Desk of Susan Saxon

Info about this year's Kazakh Aul of the US's Nauryz festival to be held on March 24th in Arlington, Mass is now up on the Aul's website, including information about programs and a downloadable registration form. Nauryz is a major Central Asian holiday to welcome the new year at the spring equinox.

Our Kazakhstan Culture Liaison, Assylgul Dalabayeva, is coming from Almaty to perform Dombra, plus traditional dances will be performed by Gulsaya Tuleubayeva, Daniyar and Bakhtiyar Baidaralin. Admission fees are cheaper if you register by March 17th http://www.kazakh-aul-us.org/Activities.htm

For... more

The IU Navruz Student Association invites you to the Annual Celebration of Navruz, the New Year Holiday for many of the peoples of Afghanistan, Iran, Central Asia (Kazakhstan), the Caucasus and Turkey. This year's Navruz Festival will be on Saturday, March 24, 2007 from 2PM - 7PM on IU's main Bloomington, Indiana Campus in the Wilkie Auditorium, 150 North Rose Avenue (off of E. 3rd Street). Following the program, "a taste of Central Asia" will be served in Forest dining hall. The IU Navruz Festival has three components: contemporary and traditional... more

FROM THE OFFICE OF SUSAN SAXON:

If you know you can come to camp this summer and want to get the best rates, you have less than 2 weeks to submit your registration materials and deposit. The early bird deadline is February 7, 2007. We will be accepting registrations after this date, but campers whose registrations/deposits are received after Feb. 7th will be charged at the Regular rates.

In case you haven't heard, the Kazakh Aul of the U.S., Association for American & Kazakh Families is thrilled to be hosting our Zhailau, Kazakh Heritage Camp for Families once again this summer in New Hampshire. The dates are July 23-28, 2007, and more information, including... more

Ust-Kamenogorsk

If you are adopting or have adopted from this region – please consider joining: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ust-Kamenogorsk-Adoptions/ - the group has almost 200 members – you can chose to receive posts by individual email, daily digest or go to no mail and read on line when you have some free time. I just highly encourage parents to connect with other families who have adopted in the same region that their child is born.

A nice way to give back to this region is through an organization called ACORN – they can be reached at http://acorn.homestead.com/home.html... more

Did you know the other names that Astana is or was known by? Aqmola, Akmola and Tselinograd are the ones listed on Susan’s site at http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/cities/astana.html

I would love to hear from families who have adopted from Astana to see if they ever visit the Duman Entertainment Center – it looks awesome on its website: http://www.duman.kz/eng/index.html The Children’s City sounds like... more