Welcome message from the Event Organizer Mehran Kamkar

Dear Supporters of the Iranian Community:

Hello, this is Mehran Kamkar. I am writing to you behalf of the Norouz Spring Festival Committee whose mission is to raise funds to help build a huge Iranian-American Community Center, to serve those living in the Peninsula and the South Bay areas.

The project, currently in the planning phase, includes a 20-acre facility and is estimated to cost over $100M. This project will house a museum, a library, senior resource center, child day care, a clinic, lots of retail, office, professional and residential (apartment) spaces which will be rented out. The rental income will help pay for mortgage, maintenance, insurance and other expenses. It will have a full gym, a 1,000 seat theater, over 40 meeting and conference rooms, a 500-seat dance and exhibition hall, a soccer field, basketball and tennis courts, lots of parking spaces and easy access to and from the major freeways as well as mass transit (bus and light rail). It will of course be open to everyone.

As a means of fundraising for this project, we have been organizing the Norouz Spring Festivals since 2004. In 2005, this weekend-long celebration was held at Vasona Park in Los Gatos during Sizdeh Bedar (13 Bedar) weekend. It compromised of 6 hours of free entertainment each day by professional dance companies (e.g. Niosha and Beshkan dance academies), professional musician Nejad, two concerts (Rushid and Farhad), professional vendor booths, security, insurance, free shuttle buses and free golf carts to help the elderly and disabled with access. In addition to the 10,000 people who attend the festivities normally on sizdeh bedar weekends, this event last year gathered an additional 5,000 people! This was the largest and longest gathering of Iranian-Americans in the Bay area to date!

The event was so successful that County Parks requested that we do it again in 2006, and that is exactly what we did, only bigger and more professionally with big name entertainers like Shahram Shabpareh, Rushid, Tara and Jamal Vafaie.

The only thing that will not change is the admission price. It will remain free for everyone. Inside the Park general parking will be the usual park fee. In order to cober expenses and raise funds we will offer limited premium spaces adjacent to the festival. Weather permitting, we expect over 18,000 people to come for the two days.

Every year we struggle with funding (sponsorship), and either break even or raise little funds. It is important to mention that none of the organizers get paid for this event and do it as a voluntary service to the community. Reputable organizations, and charitable 501c3 certified organizations have traditionally been the fiscal agents for this event. As such they supervise the responsible collection as well as the distribution of all funds ensuring financial transparencey.

Please note that any funds raised, cannot be spent on anything except the building of the proposed community center.

This event is very important to the Iranian-American community of the Bay Area, because our children must be exposed to our rich culture and heritage and to the joyous celebrations of our land in order to counteract the currently negative publicity prevalent in the media. People as far south as Fresno and far north as Sacramento come to participate and enjoy the festivities and services.

With special thanks to Mr. Bruce Bahmani and bCubed for this web service, this site will be maintained routinely throughout our path to this year's event. For 2006 year’s festival pictures please Click Here.

We are asking for your help. Your personal sponsorship of this non-profit event will ensure this first-class event continues with its mission. Your company’s sponsorship will not only send the right message to the thousands of the Iranian Americans who are potential employees (does he mean consumers?), but also will provide your company with a booth at the festival to conduct marketing and recruitment activities from. Our sponsorship levels range from Bronze $2,500, Silver $5,000, Gold $10,000 to Platinum $20,000.

I hope both you and your company can support us this year. Naturally sponsorships, depending on their levels, will be acknowledged in our TV commercials, newspaper ads, program pamphlet, website and banners (as directed by the donor). Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need more specific information.

Thank you in advance for your time. Eradatmand,

Mehran (Matt) Kamkar, P.E.
Event Organizer, Norouz Festivals 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
 
(408) 594-0442
Email: Mehran Kamkar

The 2009 Norouz Festival is the 6th iteration of an ongoing effort to produce an organized, community-responsible and fiscally efficient celebration of NoRouz within the bounds of the Vasona Park, located in Los Gatos, California.

Traditionally, Iranians have celebrated Sizdah-Bedar at Vasona Park. By the city of Los Gatos' official estimates, this has been the case for the past 25 years. Each year the city and county have borne the costs-as the event became larger and larger, culminating in a single day record of over 10,000 attendees in 2000.

In 2005 the city and county approached Mehran Kamkar, an active volunteer within the nearby city of San Jose, and asked about the ability of the Iranian community to bear the costs of this year's event. During this year's tight budgetary constraints, and the relative malaise the state of California is going through, it has become necessary for Iranians to step up to the plate, take responsibility, and help our dear and generous hosts through this financial crisis.

The budget elements that the county must cover are;

  • Security - (12 additional rangers will need to be deployed under overtime pay to help park goers and provide help and coordination).
  • Increased Restroom facilities - (The outdated restrooms of the park cannot support the needs of over 2,000 people).
  • Park repair and restoration costs - (The trampling effect of potentially 10,000 people on grass, plant material and play structures and pathways is very high. The county must pay for th replanting and repair of damaged facilities that normally occur during our annual visits).
  • Traffic congestion - (The parking lot capacity is insufficient to handle he large number of visitors during an average Sizdah-Bedar event).

To that end Mehran decided to step up and commit the resources of various community groups he has often worked with in the past to help defray these costs. Additionally it became clear that with better organization, we could also improve the event offering by inviting local talent to perform on stage, ask local food vendors to provide traditional food and refreshments, and offset additional costs by asking booth sponsors to purchase display space.

In effect an honest to goodness festival!

This years event will attempt to defray the county's costs by providing the income generated from these sponsors and charging a nominal parking fee.

We sincerely hope that you will come to this year's festival, and partake in the enhanced celebration we have planned for you. We understand that this is a nuance to what may be a tradition within your family, and we hope to minimize any intrusion as we attempt to offset the costs to the county that has been our gracious host for these many years.

If you have any questions, or would like more information, please do not hesitate to call or write us.

Mehran Kamkar: (408) 594-0442

or email: Mehran Kamkar