The GCC Persian Students Association (PSA) kicked off the upcoming arrival of spring with a new year’s celebration.

Featured were musical stylings of DJ Alex who started a half-hour Persian music mix with the Iran National Anthem. PSA members danced and sang urging others to follow suit.

Nowruz means “New Day” in Farsi and marks the New Year in the Iranian calendar. Nowruz also marks the first day of spring which is March 21. It is a celebration of the spring Equinox celebrated among Persians for over 3,000 years.

The crowd-pleaser and attention-grabber of the event was the Chay Khaneh or tea house table. Adorned with gold and copper-sequined fabric, it glittered in the sunlight and lured passers to behold its treasures. Miniature porcelain dolls sat in the middle of the table holding court to plates of cookies and large copper urns filled with tea. Posters of places of significance in Iran, such as the Bridge on Zayandeh Rood, hung from the canopy.

Participants could be seen feasting on traditional Akbar-mashti ice cream and basmati rice with beef and chicken kabobs.
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News Release: The Persian Student Association at Glendale Community College is holding a Nowruz Bazaar to celebrate the Persian New Year on Thursday, March 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the San Rafael Plaza.

The festival will include booths with displays of Persian art and a Haft-seen table set with the seven articles that represent life, heath, happiness, prosperity, love, joy and beauty. Other booths will feature a tea house, hand crafts, musical instruments, Persian pastries and other food. There will also be dancing to Persian music.

Representatives from Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans and Los Angeles Immigration Court as well as author/actress Mary Apick will be among those in attendance.

For information contact Paris Noori at 818-240-1000, ext. 5918.