The Bowers Museum, located in Santa Ana in California (USA), celebrated a free, family-friendly Mehregan – the Zoroastrian-Persian festival, on 17th September, 2023. The cultural celebration turned out to be fun and insightful for a lot of Zoroastrian, Persian and a number of other communities, as they commemorated the spirit of Mehregan, which hails the end of the harvest season and beginning of Winter, honoring Mithra, the God of light, friendship, and love.

Activities were planned for the whole day, sharing glimpses of Persian culture with all the visitors. Family friendly activities included face-painting, alongside an assorted art project titled, ‘A Journey To Persia – Arts and Crafts’, by Persian Place (a non-profit organization) and distributing Persian treat samples. Live music by Persian traditional band – Delnavazan and dance performances put together by Kooshesh Persian School were greatly appreciated. There was also a fun puppet show, ‘The Story of Namaki’ by Negar Estakhr and Maryam Rasekh, followed by more live music and dance performances.

The celebrations were greatly appreciated by all, commending the spirit of celebrating diverse cultural fests.