Celebration of Traditions

More than 300 years ago in Iran, an ancestor of Maryam Davari Kashfi copied the Koran, the holy book of Islam, in a stylized Persian calligraphy.

The ink-on-paper script that crests like the Caspian Sea translated the teachings of Muhammad so beautifully that it inspired Kashfi to spend several years studying the art with a master.

“The day after I saw it I went to register for the class,” said Kashfi, now 27, who immigrated to Los Angeles a year ago and runs a Persian calligraphy business with her husband, Ali, 35.

On Saturday, Iranian Americans lined up at a table run by the Kashfis to have their names and favorite sayings painted on thick paper cards at Mehregan, the Persian Festival of Autumn, which continues from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today at Lakeside Park next to Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.

The fourth annual event celebrates Iranian culture with music, dance, artwork, crafts, traditional cuisine, martial arts and costumes.

“The emphasis is really on three things: love, knowledge and commitment,” said organizer Nora M. Valenzuela, who is from Iran and now lives in Carbon Canyon.

The festival presents a boggling contrast of ancient and modern eras not unlike Iran itself, which for centuries bridged trade between Europe and Asia.

The front gate at the festival, designed to evoke Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire, for example, is steps from a CD-ROM flashing images of Iran on a screen.

Replicas of Assyrian tile artwork hang near a business bazaar where laser eye surgeons advertise beneath a tent with rug makers, who weave paisley designs by hand.

The festival, expected to draw as many as 15,000 people over two days, represents Iranian Americans’ interest in their heritage and commitment to advancing as immigrants.

“They are a very progressive people,” Valenzuela said, explaining that many Iranian Americans pride themselves on maintaining a commitment to education, business and social causes in the tightly woven community of about 50,000 in Orange and Los Angeles counties. “They have strong cultural connections and a strong value system.”

Parents hope the festival can teach traditional Iranian ways to children growing up in the United States, where television, popular culture, violence and other influences can detract from their heritage, said Farrokh Shokooh, chief festival organizer.

“It’s something we can pass on to the younger generation,” he said of the festival.

Though obviously Americanized with trendy haircuts and teen lexicon foreign to parents of any culture, the children at the festival said they were eager to celebrate and preserve their backgrounds.

“There are a lot of Persian American kids who are keeping it real, and they’re proud of their heritage,” said Tej Sharifan, 13, of Laguna Niguel.

Friend Hafez Adel, 13, of Irvine loves the history. Working with his parents inside a vendor’s tent, he sold books written in Farsi and presented an oral report on Omar Khayyam, a Persian mathematician.

“I try to keep my heritage alive,” he said. “When people ask what my culture is, I say it in a tone of pride. I teach them about the richness of our culture.”

After coming to the festival last year, Darcy Braun, 24, of Lake Forest returned as a volunteer Saturday.

A native of Canada who moved here a year ago, Braun says the best way to bridge cultures is at the dinner table. “It’s the food, I just love everything about it.”

Kebabs, barbecued corn, ash soup, gyros and grand fruit trays attracted visitors of many backgrounds to the steamy and smoky stands.

A tented teahouse drew visitors who sat cross-legged on red rugs, sipping beverages that reportedly mellow tense nerves.

The yogurt soda, however, elicited tiny gasps from the uninitiated, while those who grew up on the stuff grinned at the familiar flavor.

Yes, that’s yogurt soda.

“It’s an acquired taste,” Valenzuela said.