The House of Iran had their lawn program today at the International Cottages in Balboa Park. Their cultural program is held every year on the Sunday following the Persian New Year, which is called Nowruz. Nowruz occurs on the day of the vernal equinox, which is the first day of Spring.
Speeches and introductions during the event were largely in Farsi, which made it difficult for an English speaker like myself to understand all that was going on. I did understand that the program celebrated thousands of years of Persian history and culture.
There was the awarding of scholarships to young people and a thank you to the San Diego Police Department. There was Afsoon Johnston, a world champion wrestling medalist whose family fled Iran. There was a tent serving tasty, freshly made kabab, and a big crowd clapping to lots of happy dancing and music!…