TEHRAN The 16th edition of the Irans Regional Music Festival ended on Thursday in Gonbad-e Kavus, northern province of Golestan.The festival came to an end after showcasing four captivating folk music performances of different styles, IRNA reported on Friday.For a span of three days at the citys Varna venue, various musical groups hailing from the provinces of Golestan, Tehran, Mazandaran, Qazvin, North Khorasan, and Alborz entertained the crowd with their distinctive folk and local music in a non-competitive festival, the report added.Although the festival was traditionally held annually in Kerman, southern Iran, last year the organizers decided to move it to Gorgan, reportedly due to a lack of technical infrastructure at the central hall of the city that was supposed to accommodate the participating musicians.During the closing ceremony of the previous edition of the festival, officials from the Golestan province declared their readiness to permanently host the festival in the northern region.The 15th festival concluded with the introduction of the Lotfi Medal by the organizers.The medal is named after Mohammadreza Lotfi, the late master of stringed Iranian instruments and composer, who worked with great musicians such as vocalist Mohammadreza Shajarian.The decoration will be awarded biennially to musicians with outstanding works.In the previous year, the festival welcomed four musical groups from Turkey, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan alongside various ensembles originating from diverse regions of Iran.Photo: An Iranian group performs during the closing ceremony of the 16th Irans Regional Music Festival at Varna Hall in Gonbad-e Kavus, on June 29, 2023.ABU/