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# Santa Monica High to host free Persian culture celebration Sunday
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/090806-story-20060908/
- Published: 2006-09-08T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T21:23:04.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Events, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

This weekend is an opportunity to learn more about Persian culture, without the expense and travel time of a trip to Iran.

Santa Monica High School and UCLA’s Center for Near Eastern Studies are hosting a celebration of Persian culture on Sunday.

The program will include an introduction to Persian culture and literature by professor Firoozeh Papan-Martin; a demonstration of traditional Persian santur and tombak music by Manoocher Sadeghi and Mehrdad Arabifard, and a concert of contemporary electronic improvisation accompanying traditional Persian violin music by Shahrokh Yadegari and Keyavash Nourai.

As part of Santa Monica High School’s “One School, One Book” reading program, in which the entire school reads the same novel over the summer, all students are reading “Funny in Farsi” by Firoozeh Dumas. It is the memoir of a young girl being raised in both Iran and the United States.

The celebration will be held on Sept. 10, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Barnum Hall on the Santa Monica High School campus, 601 Pico Blvd. The event is free to students and the public. Travel photography lessons at the public library

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 8, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/090806.pdf?ref=smdp.com)