Music fest featured local and international acts

Photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – Tamara Huzair, 14, of Waterport sings during Friday night’s debut International Music Festival at Medina Theatre. The event was organized by the World Life Institute Center for the Performing Arts.

Tamara’s father Bilal is president of WLI. She joined her siblings – Ayman, 22; Salma, 17; and Qasim, 12 – in performing with the group Dounya, which means “world.”

Anand Ramanujam plays the Tabla, a drum from India, during Friday’s concert. Anand Ramanujam is a Tabla artist who grew up, trained and taught in India. For more about him, visit www.aanandham.com.

This photo was taken from back stage and shows performers with The Jade Monkeys, a band from Toronto. The local band, The Who Dats, also performed on Friday.

Ayman Huzair sings during the concert.

This photo was taken from the sound booth. The Huzair family sings a song dedicated to the late Vincent Cardone, who worked to develop the Medina Theatre.

The World Life Institute also recognized three local journalists for their efforts in covering community news. WLI gave awards to Virginia Kropf of The Daily News in Batavia, Tom Rivers of the Orleans Hub, and Bob Confer who writes for the Greater Niagara Newspapers, the New American magazine, as well as the East Niagara Post.

WLI today at 1:30 p.m. will celebrate the opening of The Colonade, the former Masonic Temple in Medina. WLI will use the site at 229 West Center St. for arts and cultural programming, and other events.