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Go directly to: Norouz: A Visit on the Persian New Year with Iranian-American Youth in Berkeley Coming Soon – New Guidelines for ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program Coming Soon – New Guidelines for ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program Proceeds from the license plate sales will benefit the California Arts Council (CAC) To subscribe to the weekly CAC update, please visit their website.
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WHAT'S NEWSubscribe to The New Moon, ACTA's Monthly E-Newsletter. See the latest edition of The New Moon. Submit Your Traditional Arts Events to ACTA’s Online Calendar!Each month, ACTA updates its online calendar of statewide folk & traditional arts events. Additionally, these events are publicized in The New Moon. ACTA encourages our The New Moon readers to help keep our calendar current and robust by submitting your events for inclusion. Each event listing includes a title, date and time, address, and a brief description of the performance, exhibit, or activity. We also like to include information about the cultural context or significance of the event. Digital images are welcome. ACTA updates its calendar once a month; we cannot guarantee that a submitted event will be listed. To include your event in our calendar, please submit the above information to Suzanne Hildebrand, ACTA’s Administrative Coordinator, via email or by calling her at (559) 237-9812. Thank you and we look forward to listing your events! Norouz: A Visit on the Persian New Year with Iranian-American Youth in BerkeleyLily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Program Manager
The Norouz table is traditionally filled with
symbols of spring, renewal, and fertility. Family and friends
will sit around or near their table, waiting for the exact moment
of the equinox to celebrate with good wishes and often times gifts. This
table was on display at the Nima Farsi School's Norouz celebration
in Berkeley on March 24, 2007. The vernal equinox, or Norouz (meaning “new day”) was celebrated by the Iranian-American community of Northern California last month. It was not only an occasion to celebrate the rebirth of the earth with hyacinths and tulips, which are among the beloved symbols of spring, but it is typically a holiday where people are expected to visit one another with wishes for a prosperous new year. This was the case as The Nima Farsi School of Albany, California, and the Iranian Children’s Cultural and Educational Society, along with their families, hosted such a gathering at the Martin Luther King Middle School auditorium in Berkeley, California, on March 24, 2007. At this annual gathering, families come to support their youth, ages 6-18, as they exhibit the cultural art forms that they have been learning.
Iranian American youth performing in a play
for Norouz. Houman
Pourmedhi,master percussionist and instructor, accompanies the action. Supported in part by ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program, some of the budding musicians who appeared in this program have been able to study with master percussionist Houman Pourmedhi twice a month. They are learning to play the daf (frame drum) and tombak (goblet shaped drum) and are learning Persian musical notation. Many of these students also participated in the evening’s festivities which included singing traditional music, reciting poetry, performing folk and social dances, and acting in a lively and humorous play depicting the Persian folk heroes Rostam and Sorab. Sets and costumes were made by the volunteer efforts of parents and children alike. During the intermission, a feast of homemade Persian food and desserts were provided, transforming the school commons into an intimate “living room” where a Norouz visit would actually take place.
Actors depict the heroic exploits of Rostem
and Sorab, Persian folk heroes. The play is recited entirely
in Farsi. I asked Kamran Golriz, Executive Director of the Persian American Cultural Center and key organizer of these cultural activities, some questions about the unique characteristics of this Northern California enclave. The correspondence shared below characterizes a commitment to cultural continuity in this way: “This Farsi school was started by Ms. Jorjani, a former educator in Iran, more than 10 years ago in her house to teach some kids how to read/write Farsi. Over the years more and more children of first- and second-generation Iranians joined the school and it became more of a place to teach Farsi as well as Persian culture. I got involved with it some 5 years ago when my daughter started to go to the school and since I had interest in music, and was organizing music events, I decided to put together a music program for the school on volunteer basis. Mr. Mansour Taeed, a noted Iranian actor, of the Darvak Theater Group has generously worked with the kids every year to produce a play for Norouz. We also have Ms. Shahrzad Khorsandi of the Shahrzad Dance Academy, who has been working with the kids on the dances. They are very many other parents that contribute their time to the school. “Now there are more than 100 kids in the school and the classes are held every Saturday in Albany Village. Some of the kids from the Farsi school have been to college and even graduated from college and what these youths have learned in the Farsi school has made them unique individuals. Some of them come back every year and help with some of the theater and dance productions. We had others that have gone and started their own Persian dance classes or have become involved with theater companies.
Dancers perform for the Nima Farsi School's
Norouz celebration. “I should emphasize that Ms. Jorjani is the driving force of this school and without her love and dedication the school could not survive. Over the years the parents have gotten more and more involved in the programs at school and formed a non-profit entity (The Iranian Children Cultural and Educations Society) to support the programs. The school has programs for all major Persian events: Yalda, Mehregan, Charshanbe Soori, and Norouz which introduces the youth to the tradition and helps preserve the culture. “There are many different Iranian communities in Bay Area but [this one] is one of the most progressive and a very special community. I can say with confidence that there are no youth events such as the one we had for Norouz that is rich in culture and far from commercialization, maybe not even in Islamic Iran. The reason behind it is the community and its interest in the Persian heritage. Many of the involved parents at the Farsi school are those who came before revolution to attend school at UC Berkeley or nearby colleges. Naturally by being in Berkeley through 70s and away from home those parents form a unique community that pays more attention to their roots thus to their language, art and culture. “The philosophy of the school has attracted similar minded parents who came after the revolution. Almost all kids attending the Farsi school have been born in US and many have non-Iranian mothers or fathers.” Through the efforts of all the volunteers and master artists mentioned above, the Nima Farsi School’s Norouz celebration clearly was a treasured focal point for the community to work towards in order to show with pride the accomplishments of their youth. The language skills that are honed during Farsi class reinforces a fundamental belief that knowledge of the mother tongue is a crucial portal towards understanding and perpetuating all the traditional arts. The next generation of Iranian-American youth who are learning these language skills in this new context, give added meaning to the idea of rebirth during this season of celebration and growth. Coming Soon – New Guidelines for ACTA’s Apprenticeship ProgramNext month, ACTA will release new guidelines for Round 8 of its Apprenticeship Program. ACTA’s Apprenticeship Program encourages the continuation of the state’s traditional arts and cultures by contracting master artists to train qualified apprentices, working in a one-on-one relationship. Each contract of $3,000 will support a period of intensive learning for individuals who have shown a commitment to and a talent for a specific artistic tradition. Please check ACTA’s website for updated guidelines and application forms for the new round of apprenticeships. For more information, contact Sherwood Chen, ACTA’s Associate Director, at (415) 561-1562 or via email. Coming Soon – New Guidelines for ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants ProgramNext month, ACTA will release new guidelines for Round 3 of its Living Cultures Grants Program. ACTA’s Living Cultures Grants Program is a funding program for California non-profit organizations to support exemplary projects in the traditional arts. Grant awards are generally limited to $5,000 or less. A small number of grants of up to $7,500 will be awarded to projects that demonstrate significant impact on a particular cultural tradition. Please check ACTA’s website for updated guidelines and application forms for the new round of grants. For more information, contact Lily Kharrazi, Living Cultures Grants Program Manager, at (415) 561-7893 or via email.
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