The Trojan Grand Ballroom was alight with decorations and glee Friday evening as partygoers danced, sang, and ate Persian foods to celebrate Nowruz, the Iranian and Persian New Year celebrated on the spring equinox. 

The Persian Student Organization and Middle Eastern North African Student Assembly celebrated the beginning of spring with music, food, and community at their annual Nowruz gala. The direct translation of Nowruz from Persian to English is “new day.” Every year, thousands of people worldwide celebrate Nowruz in anticipation of the joy to come in the new year. 

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“I feel like for someone who doesn’t know Persian culture, for me, it’s like a mix between Christmas and Easter,” said Donya Badamchi, the vice president of PSO and a junior majoring in electrical and computer engineering.

In Persian culture, it is traditional for families to decorate for Nowruz and give children eidis, or gifts. 

At PSO’s Nowruz celebration, club members decorated the venue with a sea of white tables centered with Persian blue table runners, white flowers, and a plate of fresh produce.

The event started with a warm welcome from Romina Nazari, the cultural affairs director for PSO and a senior majoring in health and the health sciences. She expressed her excitement for the event and thanked all of the attendees for their presence. After Nazari finished speaking, Persian dance music began to play and continued throughout the night.

As guests continued to trickle in, many took the opportunity to use the self-operating photo booth and learn about the Persian vendors present at the venue in a Persian marketplace style. 

“These are Persian businesses that not only are representing our community tonight, here at USC’s campus but also all across the city of Los Angeles, and we are absolutely grateful for that presence,” Nazari said. 

The vendors included Karimi Jewelry, Shams Brewing and Bomani Cold Buzz. 

 “A lot of our vendors that came, some are also USC alum, so that was important to me to make sure that we had representation within the Persian community, but also our Trojan community,” said Elina Khoshnevis, a sophomore majoring in communication and a director of professional development for PSO. 

Two musicians played traditional Persian instruments: Fedros Ghadiri — drumming and strumming the santoor — and Eimon Amjadi, a senior majoring in neuroscience, tapped the tombak with his fingertips to create the rhythm. The audience was quiet as the slow melodious music was being performed. This caused the atmosphere to feel relaxed as the distinct combination of the santoor and tombak accommodated one another in creating the soothing tone of the piece performed. 

The last performance of the night was Nazari and Badamchi reciting two poems in Farsi written by the poets Hafez and Khayam.

The event closed with a Persian dinner and Mashti Malone’s pistachio and saffron ice cream. 

Reflecting on the event, many PSO members described the festivities and Persian culture as a whole as robust, welcoming, and celebratory. 

“Just as a culture, we love to celebrate each other, celebrate holidays; it’s very light-hearted,” said Nikki Yaminrafie, a member of PSO and a senior majoring in computer science.