ParsaCommunityFoundation

Last week, PARSA CF released its latest issue of “In the Spotlight,” highlighting the frontiers of Norooz. We also asked members of the Iranian community around the world to send us information on educational and cultural outreach-based Norooz events that were not covered in the article. People responded enthusiastically, and as a continuation of last week's "Force for Good," PARSA CF will feature additional Norooz events here.

The Persian Center of Berkeley, California, will hold its annual Chahrshanbeh Soori celebration at the center on March 17. This event is among the biggest of its kind, attracting over 2,000 people each year. On March 20, Persian Center will hold its 2009 Norooz celebration at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The evening will include cultural performances, dinner and dancing. For more information, please visit: http://www.persiancenter.org/

On March 22, the San Mateo Public Library in San Mateo, California, will host a Norooz celebration. The program includes a haft seen display, performances by Beshkan Dance Academy, music by the Ebrahimi Brothers and storytelling by Golden Thread Productions. For more information, click here: http://www.cityofsanmateo.org/dept/library/

The Iranian-American community in San Diego, California, will be hosting a number of Norooz events in the coming weeks. The Dollar a Month Fund recently hosted a Norooz Bazaar in cooperation with the Iranian School of San Diego (ISSD), benefiting children in need: http://www.dmfund.org/index.html. On March 15, ISSD will host a community Norooz celebration featuring dance, music and theater performances by ISSD students. On March 21, the Persian Cultural Center and the Association of Iranian-American Professionals of San Diego will host an annual Norooz celebration featuring the Persian Cultural Dance Academy. See http://www.pccsd.org/ and http://www.aiap.org/ for more information.

On February 28, the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education (SIAWE) held its annual Norooz celebration and scholarship presentation dinner at the Junior League of Houston. The celebration featured a Norooz bazaar and a haft seen display. Andrea White, a civic leader and the wife of Houston Mayor Bill White, was the keynote speaker. As a result of SIAWE's awards, 36 scholarship recipients currently attend schools across Texas. Click here for more details: http://www.siawe.org/