Nowruz is an ancient festival that marks the beginning of the Persian New Year and the arrival of spring. In honor of the New Year and Spring Equinox, the Persian New Year Festival is hosting one of the country’s LARGEST Nowruz festivals in Scottsdale from Wednesday, February 28 to Saturday, March 2.

“We are thrilled to bring the Persian New Year Festival back to Scottsdale for another wonderful Spring celebration,” said the Co-Founder of the nonprofit, Lawdan Shojaee. “This year, we are providing a fashion show and musical performance featuring a wide variety of vendors prior to our all-day Saturday celebration at Scottsdale Waterfront.”

A Persian Fashion Show produced by Mahsa Page, featured in Redbook and Arizona Fashion Week, will kick off the multi-day event on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Scottsdale’s Museum of The West (3830 N Marshall Way). The show Desert Dreams will be a mesmerizing concoction of Persian glamor and southwest chic enveloped by vibrant colors and intricate designs, all coming to life on the runway.

Beautifully designed and colorful hand-crafted attire will showcase Persian traditions, its stylistic history, and regional diversities that define Persian culture. The fashion show on a public platform gives many local designers, artisans, and craftspeople the opportunity to showcase their talents. The event also connects and involves Fashion and Art students from Arizona State University, allowing them to network and foster entrepreneurship with local businesses. The fashion show is a cocktail-style event, and tickets are $150 on sale for $125 for a limited time.

Day two of the Persian New Year Festival will take place at Stagebrush Theater (7020 E. Second St.) on Thursday, Feb. 29. Guests can enjoy the performance of Voices Unveiled in Scottsdale. It’s a three-part original musical composition by Ehsan Matoori, inspired by Persian traditional music, folk with fusion elements featuring two Persian female vocalists, Maliheh Moradi and Mina Deris. Tickets begin at $45 and are on sale now for the first 190 guests.

The Persian New Year Festival concludes on Saturday, March 2, with the celebration starting at 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Scottsdale Waterfront (4420 N. Scottsdale Rd.), which highlights Persian food and cultural vendors throughout the space. Local talent and influencer Leila Parnian and video creator Farzam Kazemi will co-host the event, with singer Andy Madadian headlining the main stage along with other performers and entertainers throughout the day. Tickets for the festival are now on sale.

A percentage of the ticket sales from all the Persian New Year Festival events will go towards Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research. This is an organization that provides education and leadership development to the youth while promoting awareness of how common brain tumors are as the leading cause of cancer deaths among peers and acting as outreach to support affected individuals and their families. “Students Supporting Brain Tumor Research truly appreciates the generous support of the Persian New Year Festival, which provides us a platform to spread awareness and educate the many guests on what we do and publicize how our two organizations align so well in our shared priorities of giving back to the community,” said Dr. Wendy Kaye, President of the non-profit in Arizona.

For more information on the Persian New Year Festival, visit PersianNewYearFestival.org.

About the Persian New Year Festival
For over 3,000 years, every Spring, the Persian New Year has been celebrating family, community, food, music, and dance. In 2023, the fifth annual Persian New Year Festival drew an estimated 8000 happy participants with rave reviews. The 2024 festival has added a fashion show produced by Mahsa Page at Scottsdale’s Museum of the West on Wednesday, Feb. 28, and a musical performance, Voices Unveiled, at the Stagebrush Theater in Scottsdale on Thursday, Feb. 29. The Persian New Year Festival featuring Persian and Middle Eastern foods, cultural vendors and singer Andy Madaian is Saturday, March 2 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. at Scottsdale Waterfront. For more information on the Persian New Year Festival, visit PersianNewYearFestival.org.