Sheriff Baca Wove Persian Rug at Our Nowruz Party Extravaganza

We had a wonderful Nowruz party at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last night. It was to celebrate Nowruz, the beginning of Spring and the Persian new year. The interior and the decoration of the International Ballroom looked great. Thank to Shideh and her staff. We also had the red carpet outside and the Beverly Hills Courier and our IAPA's photographers took pictures of the dignitaries and honorees. The IAPA (Iranian American Parents Association) board members and its president had worked tirelessly on this event for almost eight months. I have had the pleasure of being on the board of IAPA. Dr. Nanaz Pirnia a renown psychologist who is the president of this non-profit organization established in 1994, has been our family friend since we were classmates in the great University of Southern California, USC in the late 1970's and early 1980's. She has done so much for the Persian-American community.

We had a carpet weaving booth right at the entrance. Our master weaver showed the guests how they could tie the knots and make a rug. Sheriff Leroy Baca, the head of Los Angeles County Sheriff Department, the largest and biggest sheriff department in the country, sat down with our weaver behind an actual rug loom and tied some knots. I told him I would send him the rug after it is finished!

We also had a silent auction with many great gifts and prizes. Several of our wonderful volunteers managed the auction. The prizes were too many to name here.

There was plenty of Persian food, Persian music and dances. Everybody had fun. We had great singers and vocalists. I will write more on this in a separate post. Here, I am posting some pictures of this great event.

I had several very dear American friends and guests who sat with us at our table. This is what one of them wrote to me few minutes ago in an e-mail:

"Dear Khosrow and Shirin,

Thank you so much for including me in your wonderful Nowruz celebrations last evening. Wow, what a fabulous party! Lots of music, beautiful flowers, great food, and your fellow Persians all dressed up, sparkling in their diamonds, and having fun! It was so much fun to see Ashkan and Kash, too, and I loved meeting Shirin’s sister, who seemed extremely nice, too. Unfortunately, I haven’t done dancing for a long time, so I am very out of condition. But it was still a lot of fun, and a great cultural exchange. Congratulations, too, on the organizational skills of your Parents Association, and all of the sponsorships that you were able to get.

Thanks again for such a lovely evening—and I look forward to seeing you at our next program, if not before."

Dr. Khosrow Sobhe (Dr. Kay)
Certified Rug Specialist (CRS)
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Rug Weaving Workshop in Nowruz Celebration Party in Beverly Hilton Hotel

I am a board member of the Iranian American Parents Association, IAPA. This non-profit organization is planning to have a Persian new year (Nowruz) celebration on March 8, 2009. Below, you may find more information on this wonderful event:

IAPA celebrates NowRuz 1388, Spring 2009!

Sunday March 8, 2009 - 3 pm to 9 pm
International Ballroom, The Beverly Hilton
9876 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Music, dance, Persian Cuisine, NowRuz displays and much more...
Entertainment by: Black Cats(New Cats on the block)
Featuring Firoozeh, new face of pop music & Nemsa, the only Persian female DJ

In organizing the IAPA NowRuz celebration our goal is: "To bring about greater harmony and understanding between the diverse cultures and people that make up this community."

We had a Persian Rug Weaving Workshop in the previous event. The reception was extraordinary and there were many people who wanted to make and tie few knots to see how rugs are made. I am posting few photos from that event. We will have another rug weaving free workshop this year as well.

Khosrow Sobhe
Certified Rug Specialist
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Persian New Year Party @ CSUN Cal State Northridge

Yesterday evening we were invited to a party which was held in the Camden House restaurant in Beverly Hills. A good friend who was my school mate at the university of Southern California, USC has opened a Mind Therapy Center and held a big party there. She is a very successful psychologist. My wife and I went there and stayed for a couple of hours. Then we had to rush to another party, this one a Persian new year, NowRuz party in the Californian State University Northridge, 15 miles north of Los Angeles. They have a very active Persian club and my son Ashkan is its president. With the help of other members of the Persian club and their adviser, they held a very well attended party with lots of Persian food, dance and fun. We were there till 11:00 pm. Every body liked the event. It was fun for us as guests, and good practice for the young students to practice to hold such events.
Khosrow Sobhe
www.RugIdea.com
310-770-9085

Persian New Year NowRuz 1387

March 20th was the first day of Spring and the first day of Persian new year. We have special ceremonies for our new year, for which we prepare a table with several fruits, greens, vegetables, grains and etc. each stand foe some thing. We celebrate and visit friends and relatives.

In the mind of Iranians, the word nowruz invokes colorful images which are sumptuous, elegant, and opulent as well as delightfully simple, refreshing, and cordial. Although colored with vestiges of Iran's Mazdian and Zoroastrian past, the Nowruz celebration is neither religious or national in nature, nor is it an ethnic celebration. Jewish, Zoroastrian, Armenian and Turkish Iranians and Central Asians celebrate the Nowruz with the same enthusiasm and sense of belonging. Perhaps it is this very universal nature of the message of Nowruz that speaks to its wealth of rites and customs as well as to its being identified as the unique fount of continuity of the Iranian culture.

Khosrow Sobhe

www.RugIdea.com

310-770-9085