Persian Culture Festival celebrates Iranian sounds and food

Students were given a chance to taste and hear the foods and music of Iran on Tuesday when Santa Monica College's Persian Club held a special, one day event called The Persian Culture Festival. The event was held on the main quad and was sponsored by the Associated Students.

Persian food, such as rice and chicken kabab, was handed out for free to those willing to wait in line and crafts and other artisan works were put on display to celebrate the arrival of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

A DJ also blasted modern Persian pop through loudspeakers that drowned out all other noises and created a fun and culturally informative atmosphere.

Iran is one of the most important, talked about countries in the world right now and so for both Iranian students and organizers, this was a unique opportunity to celebrate one of the world's oldest cultures with both Persians and non-Persians alike.

Saina Vosogsi, liason for the SMC Persian Club, said, "We are trying to introduce our culture. The good thing is we had a lot of non-Persians come. I hope they enjoyed it. This year was pretty crowded."

Vosogi was born in Iran and moved to California and currently studies engineering at SMC. She added that, "most of us like it here. It's a good environment to study and the education level is very high."

Vena Negasvan, an international student from Iran said, "I hope Americans see that Persia means friendship."