Iranians Flock to Persian New Year Festival

More than 20,000 Iranians from all over Southern California packed William R. Mason Regional Park on Sunday to celebrate the Persian New Year and help preserve their cultural heritage.

The event went off without any major problems, said event organizers and Irvine police. Last year, about 25,000 people turned out, creating havoc because of a lack of parking, restrooms and other facilities.

“We’ve had one complaint so far, and that was that the blimp was too loud,” said Irvine Police Cmdr. Charles Bozza, referring to the Goodyear airship that circled above the celebration. Later in the day, some neighbors complained about parking, but there were far fewer complaints than last year, police said.

This year, organizers and Irvine police encouraged people to go to other parks to lessen the impact of the celebration on the neighborhoods surrounding Mason Park. UC Irvine also provided parking spaces on campus and shuttle service to the park. About 30 police officers and volunteers helped control the crowds.

The event, which featured music, dancing and games, is rooted in a 3,000-year-old tradition of celebrating Jashnsizdah Bedar, the 13th day of the Persian New Year. (The 13th day actually is today but was observed Sunday.)

“Iranians have assimilated quite well in this society,” said Fardad Fateri, an event organizer and the assistant director of the Orange County Center of United States International University. “We do want to assimilate, but at the same time, we hope to keep our heritage.”

Fateri stressed that the event was nonpolitical and nonreligious. In fact, the green, white and red Iranian flag was displayed without any emblem, signifying no preference for either the Shah of Iran or for the current Islamic regime.

Fateri and others said they hoped that making sure the event was a family-oriented outing would help end stereotypes of Iranians.

“It’s unfortunate that there’s so much bad news coming from that part of the world,” said 29-year-old Behzad Khazaie, who came to the United States in 1981 and now lives in Beverly Hills. “There’s tradition. There’s more (to Iranians) than all we hear about terrorism.”

Families and friends played baseball, volleyball and other American sports, or sat under trees, playing Persian music on boom boxes, and occasionally breaking into traditional dances. Some celebrants noted that the current Islamic government frowns upon such celebrations in Iran.

A few families displayed a grass-like plant--such as wheat, lentil or barley--on their tables. Some families even displayed the plants on their cars on the way to the picnic, which is supposed to bring good luck. At the end of the day, they discarded the plant, to symbolize ridding themselves of evil.

Several hundred people gathered to watch about 10 members of the Federation of Young Iranian Athletes of America demonstrate Varzesh Banstam, the traditional Iranian sport of heroism.

After warming up by waving pins--about three times larger than those found at a bowling alley--members of the group squared off one-on-one in a combination of wrestling and martial arts.

“There aren’t very many young people doing this sport,” said Khazaie, a member of the group. “Young people--they’d rather involve themselves in American sports.”

Organizers said that the large turnout Sunday was an encouraging sign that Iranian tradition is not being forgotten. Many people recalled with ease the symbolism behind many of the customs.

“If we pass (day) 13 without any trouble, we won’t have any trouble the whole year,” said Rasoul M. Beigy, 40, of Hollywood, who attended Sunday’s outing with about 20 family members and friends. “If they spend the 13th day happy, they will be happy the whole year.”