Tirgan QWE | Our Story

Our Mission

Tirgan is a registered Canadian charitable (non-profit) organization which organizes festivals in Toronto celebrating Iranian arts and culture through an array of artistic and literary disciplines including music, dance, cinema, theatre, history, literature, visual arts, and children's activities. Our goal is to bring great artists and audience together and coordinate entertaining and informative cultural events while maintaining our non-political and non-partisan mandate. The long-term goal of this organization is to establish itself as a staple in the Toronto festivals scene through more diverse programming for a broader audience.

Tirgan 2019 will include over 230 artist, 100+ performances, 30+ free events, numerous children's programming, 8 restaurants, and two traditional teahouses. Tirgan Festival is organized in entirety by a group of over 400 dedicated volunteers who put their heart and soul into this festival; those whom without their hard work and dedication this grand event would not be possible.

This year numerous other organizations are aligning their events in Toronto to coincide with Tirgan. IBridges which is a one-day conference of high-tech entrepreneurs of Iranian descent (residing in the U.S.) will be happening on Friday July 26th, at the MaRS Discovery District. And the Iranian Alliance Across Borders (IAAB) is organizing a 10-day kids camp (July 15-24th) which concludes as Tirgan Festival starts. Tirgan Festival 2023 has something for everyone! Come and experience this festival.

Our story

Tirgan is a non-partisan, non-religious Canadian registered charitable organization. We are committed to promoting cross-cultural dialogue between Iranian-Canadians and the global community at large through year-round productions of cultural programs.

How we started

In 2004, a group of us came together at the University of Toronto for the first time to celebrate Nowruz, the Persian/Iranian New Year. This was our first landmark event. Since then, Tirgan has become a staple source for the celebration of Iranian Art and Culture through ongoing programs throughout the year which aim to bring together people who share the same passions as us!

How we started

Our signature events are the Nowruz and Tirgan Festivals which coincide with two of the most widely celebrated ancient Iranian/ Persian celebrations in the months of March and July, respectively. These two events have turned into the world’s largest get together and celebration of Iranian art and culture. We have hosted the very best local and international talent to present our cultural programs.

Our festivals have been held in some of Toronto’s most exciting locations such as the Harbourfront Centre and the Distillery District in downtown, TOLive www.tolive.com (former Toronto Centre for the Arts and St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts).Over the years, we have hosted over 1200 artists and presented over 2000 diverse programs, 80% of them free of charge. Our events have attracted over 1 million local and international visitors to Toronto.

Some fact number
about Tirgan

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1000

Artists Involved

235

Volunteers

1100

Media Partners

5000

Volunteer Hours

135

Social Media Reach