PERSIAN NEW YEAR BASH DRAWS THOUSANDS FOR DANCING, SINGING.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

Thousands of Iranian-Americans descended on Lake Balboa Park on Sunday for a massive Persian New Year celebration, complete with food, dancing and cultural music.

While the Persian New Year actually fell in March, Sunday's gathering was part of a millenia-old tradition called Nowruz, in which Iranians stay outside on the 13th day of the new year to dodge bad luck.

``I don't know if I believe it, but I believe in keeping the tradition alive,'' said attorney Soheila Omrani, 41, of Encino. ``It is good to even use as an excuse to get the family together and even keep the family bond going.''

As they sat on blankets eating kebab and pistachio nuts, families talked and listened to Persian music on stereos. Some looked for old friends.

``It's very easy: If you walk around the lake, it's very easy to see many faces from the past,'' said Jamshid Afrand, 48, of West Hills.

Some 15,000 people attended the Seezdah Bedar celebration at Lake Balboa, said Battalion Chief Patrick Butler of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The crowd numbered 12,000 last year, he said.

After playing the violin and singing for friends and family, Touraj Shoqri, 38, said through an interpreter that he enjoyed more freedom celebrating Seezdah Bedar in Los Angeles than he would in Iran. Authorities there crack down on dancing and music during the Nowruz festival, which predates Islam, participants at Sunday's event said.

But no such restrictions hampered the celebration at Balboa Park.

``Feeling great - after food, I'm dancing,'' said factory worker Sierra Nadizadeh, 31, of Lakeview Terrace.

At the bandstand, performers sang Persian songs to the accompaniment of keyboard and drum music as people danced. Some at the park came face to face with an old friend from back home - Haji Firouz, a character garbed in red who comes bearing good tidings for the new year.

Ali Kassemi-Hassar, 44, of Reseda videotaped the dancing, tambourine- toting man dressed as the Haji Firouz, saying he planned to show friends back in Iran that all the hallmarks of the Seezdah Bedar celebration could be found in the Southland.

Participants in Sunday's event said they wanted to pass on the Nowruz tradition to their children.

``I think whatever is good about American culture, that's what I like to teach my children, and whatever is good about Persian culture, I want to pass that on, too,'' said Amir Solomani, 34, of Reseda.

Among the customs associated with the annual festival are the need to be near water and grass.

``It's a day to be one with nature,'' said Omrani, the attorney.

Amid the celebration, Amad Azad, 40, of Sherman Oaks was mindful of the passing of Pope John Paul II. The late pope fought for freedom against communism, said Azad, who is Muslim.

``The whole life, he was a great man,'' Azad said. ``He fight for many things. It's really sad that he's not among us anymore.''

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

People gather Sunday around a bandstand in Balboa Park in Encino to celebrate for the annual Seezdah Bedar celebration, part of the Persian New Year observance.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer