Seattle Iranian Festival

MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL:

Our Iranian community has faced many unfortunate challenges this past year. As we face challenges, we find ways to have hope, to continue on even when it is hard, and keep building the community we want for ourselves and our children as Iranian Americans and the Iranian diaspora worldwide.

All of this has made us stronger. It has made us more resilient.

Whether through the unity built over many years in our community in the greater Seattle area, or through the arts and music we've seen Iranians and even non-Iranians create to express love and courage, we have seen how celebrating our Iranian culture can get us through difficult times.

The art and poetry of our music has been one notable way we have found connection in the past year. In this year's 17th Annual Seattle Iranian Festival, in community with other Iranian organizations, we celebrate not only the ways music has created connection between us, but also the resiliency it helps us build as we face new challenges in the future. Traditional Persian instruments themselves have endured for centuries. They are a symbol of ancient Persia and our culture, a symbol of what always binds us, and a symbol for what is most important surviving despite changing of seasons and empires. We are stronger when we share and celebrate our music and culture, our resiliency is greatest when we are together.

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Seattle Iranian Festival took place on Saturday, June 24: 12pm-6pm at the Armory Food & Event Hall. The festival is part of the Seattle Center Festál series. It is free and open to the public.

Seattle Center Festál is a year-round series of 24 free cultural festivals, produced in partnership with community organizations. In 2022, Festál celebrated 25 years of stories and traditions, ushering in a new era of hybrid programming. Learn more about Festál and subscribe to the newsletter for updates.

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OVERVIEW

Seattle Center Festál presents Seattle Iranian Festival in partnership with Iranian American Community Alliance (IACA). The festival brings together Iranians, Iranian-Americans, non-Iranians in celebration of the culture with poetry, music, food, tea, comedy, and more.

HISTORY

2007 was the first year the active members of the Iranian community joined hand-in-hand with the board members of the Iranian American Community Alliance (IACA) to organize an event that has now become the annual Seattle Iranian Festival. IACA, as an organization, came from a vision the founder, Ali Ghambari had for the future of the Iranian generation here in the greater Seattle area. As parents, they already knew their roots and maintained their heritage through their household and upbringing of their children, but what about the generation of their grandchildren? That is when Ali and a selected group of Iranians formed the IACA organization to not only bridge the gap between the Iranian and the American communities, but to create an established organization for the existing community and the next generations. IACA has remained a well-established grassroots organization dedicated to organizing its largest event of the year, Seattle Iranian Festival, while supporting other organizations and events.

The Iranian American Community Alliance (IACA) is a Seattle-based, 501(c)(3) non-profit, community organization focused on cultural and educational programs, like Seattle Iranian Festival, and youth and leadership development through mentorship and service. It was founded in 2005.

DID YOU KNOW?

Iranians were pioneer carpet weavers of the ancient world.
Prior to the 1930s, Iran was called Persia.
Persian (Farsi) is the official language of Iran. However, other languages are spoken throughout the country, including Turkic, Kurdish, Gilaki, and Arabic.
Iran is one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations, with settlements back to 4000 B.C.
Approximately 70% of Iran's population is under the age of 30.
Iran is one of the world's largest producers of caviar, pistachios, and saffron.
Iranians make up Iran (61%), followed by Azeri (16%), Kurd (10%), Lur (6%), Baloch (2%), Arab (2%), Turkmen and Turkic tribes (2%), and other (1%).
The most popular sport in Iran is soccer. The national team also known as Team Melli, has won the Asian Cup three times and played in three World Cup Final competitions.
Polo was played in Iran as early as the 6th Century B.C., mainly as training for the cavalry.
Gardens permeate Iranian culture & history.
Iran is the most populous country in the Middle East at about 82 million people and practice different faiths, despite Iran's Islamic Republic government practices and misconceptions all Iranians are conservative Muslims. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians and Bahai's all live in Iran.
October 29 539 BCE - Day that Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, declared what is the first charter of human rights in the world.
Iranians invented practical windmills around 500-900 A.D., used to grind grain or draw up water.
The Postal Service was invented in Ancient Persia around 550 B.C. by Cyrus the Great.
Iran is the 4th largest producer of oil in the world.