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The 2025 Persian Parade kicks off this Sunday in New York City, celebrating the rich culture, food, and heritage of the Iranian people—without any ties to politics or religion. Now in its 21st year, the event includes traditional music, dance, and food, from kabab koobideh to saffron ice cream. FOX 5’s Michelle Ross has a flavorful and festive preview from the Upper East Side.
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This weekend marks the 2025 Persian Parade in New York City and ahead of the event
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organizers want to remind people that they're not connected to what the current Iranian government
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represents. From vibrant colors to delicious food, Michelle Ross has a preview of what we can expect
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Music and dancing and the hard to resist aromatic flavors of the food
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The Persian Parade this Sunday will have it all. There were two main purposes when we started this parade
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One, to use it as a platform to educate our larger community
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The second part of it is to teach our next generation where they belong to
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In its 22nd year, the parade does not celebrate politics or religion
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but rather the rich culture of the Persian people, the people of Iran
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It's one way to show that Iranians and the current government are not one and the same
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which is why the Islamic Republic's flag is not flown down Madison Avenue
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Instead, this ancient flag with a line in the middle is used
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No affiliation to the current regime or even the previous dynasty, but a nod to Persian history and rich cultural values
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What the parents teach their kids, you know, get educated, to be respectful
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and also to be proud of what we have accomplished through our civilization
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Leila Montazemi has been dancing in the parade since 2012. Here she performs a dance called Eshwe, which translates from Farsi to flirtatious
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But this isn't belly dancing. Although beautiful as well, there are no belly rolls or much hip movements
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Coordinating between body, soul and movement, mixing all choreography, including ballet. The base it has to be ballet And every Persian favorite part the food Skewers of kebab fill the air We went to Rabakh Persian Grill on the Upper East Side to see a major vendor that at the parade every year
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Betty Imamian is the director of public relations for the parade. Betty, I think this is my favorite part about being Persian, the food
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We have the stews, we have the rice. And the star of the show right now is the kebab kubideh. What is that
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Cabo Cupidé is actually ground beef with onion and spices, and we eat it with sumac, which helps digestion
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And what is tajik? Everybody loves it. My non-Ibanian friends are like, what is this crunchy thing
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It's the bottom of the rice, right? And you can either make it with plain rice
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you can make it with bread, we can make it with potatoes
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And trust me, we fight over this in every single household, and people get creative with the decoration as well
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And every meal is accompanied with sabzi hordon, a mix of different fresh herbs which also aid in digestion
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It's often served with feta cheese and bread. And when those herbs are cooked for hours with dried lime and meat, it becomes gourmet sabzi
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the country's unofficial national dish, served with a bed of white saffron rice
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And for dessert, bastani ice cream made with rose water and saffron, unlike any dessert you've had before
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To wash it all down, we cannot forget the chahi, because tea is served with every meal
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And even though Persians are a smaller minority in the United States, they have a strong presence throughout this city and country
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Look at in Silicon Valley, so many Iranian CEOs, presidents, and in NASA
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the number of doctors in the New York City area is tremendous
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So no matter your background or religion, you're welcome to join the celebration
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Because if you couldn't tell by now, we are a hospitable culture
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On the Upper East Side, Michelle Ross, Fox 5 News
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