Nowruz Celebration Cleveland City Hall Rotunda March 23, 2026
The City of Cleveland held their first Nowruz (Persian New Year) celebration in the Rotunda of Cleveland City Hall on Monday March 23, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day" in Persian, is an ancient festival marking the Persian New Year and the arrival of spring, celebrated on the vernal equinox—typically March 20 or 21 by over 300 million people across diverse ethnic groups in regions including Iran, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and more.
Its origins trace back more than 3,000 years to the Zoroastrian religion and the ancient Persian empire, where it symbolized the rebirth of nature, the triumph of light over darkness, and the renewal of life.
After a moment of silence, City of Cleveland Asian Liaison Chia-Min Chen welcomed the crowd.
Chia-Min Chen
Chia introduced Cleveland Community Liaison Director Angela Shute-Woodson who read and presented a certificate from Mayor Bibb honoring the communities celebrating Nowruz to Aya Alibek of the Aya Alibek Dance School.
Chia-Min Chen, Aya Alibek and Angela Shute-Woodson
Aya then gave her remarks.
Aya Alibek
Watch a video of the above remarks.
Aya Alibek is from Kazakhstan originally and she and her student from the Aya Alibek Dance School performed this Kazakh Solo Dance.
Before members of the Silk Road Cultural Collective showcased their traditional armor and attire, co-founder Dan Hanson gave some history and remarks about the Silk Road, Nowruz and the region.
Johnny Wu performs as Dan Hanson narrates
Silk Road members with Chia-Min Chen
Then, more members of the Aya Alibek Dance School performed a Kazakh Group Dance.
Chia-Min Chen thanked Tariq Islam for the food service before introducing the final dance.
Chia-Min Chen and Tariq Islam
This Uzbek Dance was their finale.
There were lots of photo opps with members of the Silk Road Cultural Collective and Aya Alibek dancers.
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