Happy Persian New Year! Nowruz Mabarak!

The Persian New Year marks the beginning of spring.  On March 17 I took part in a Persian New Year -- Nowruz -- festival at Reston Town Center.  There were several dozen vendor displays with crafts, foods, rugs and services. 

I shared a vendor table with Mahsa Mehryar, owner of Sofreh Atelier, LLC.  Her company designs Sofreh Aghd, the Persian Wedding Spread. Her work is beautiful. The Persian wedding traditions are very specific and Mahsa did a nice job of setting up a display that reflected what she does at weddings.

I displayed some of my work as well.  I work as a make-up artist and weddings are my specialty.  I brought some albums filled with photos of my work and handed out my business cards.

The food at the festival was abundant, but since it ended up snowing, I was very grateful to have a hot bowl of Aashe Reshteh, a soup with lentils and spinach. My children were thrilled to have kabab and Bamieh (a sweet donut-type treat flavored with rose water).  Tea was our drink of choice and my friend's mother kept us with a hot cup of Chai in hand at all times.

Not since I lived in Southern California have I seen such a vibrant Iranian-American community.  I feel very grateful to have been included in this festival and highly recommend it to anyone interested in Persian Culture.