Following weeks of escalating protests in Iran\u00a0and thousands reported dead,\u00a0the Iranian Students\u2019 Cultural Organization, or ISCO, canceled its annual Norouz Show for the first time in more than 30 years.<\/p>\n
The show was planned for Mar. 15 but ISCO said the severity of the situation made it difficult to move ahead with the event, according to an Instagram post shared Monday. \u201cMoving forward with a large, celebratory performance no longer feels aligned with the emotional reality our community is living through or with the values at the heart of Norouz itself,\u201d the post wrote.<\/p>\n
Protests broke out in Iran in Dec. 2025in response to the national currency\u2019s collapse,\u00a0with citizens demanding for government reform and an improvement on human rights issues. The country was put under a state-imposed blackout in early January,\u00a0and thousands of protesters have been killed by state violence, according to several international human rights organizations.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Norouz is a 3,000-year-old celebration of the Persian New Yearand falls on the day of the spring equinox.Iranians around the world celebrate across 13 days with various traditional meals and activities, including bonfires and performances similar to ISCO\u2019s annual celebration. Sara Shirazi, a copresident of ISCO, said Norouz is a time for \u201cgrowth and renewal.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Typically, ISCO\u2019s Norouz Show includes music, singing, art, poetry, audience interaction and dancing.The show draws both UC Berkeley students and local Bay Area residents looking for a place to celebrate.The event was set to be held at International House, and has always sold out, according to Kimiya Attar, an ISCO copresident.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really was not an easy decision,\u201d Attar said. \u201cWe came to this decision after a lot of internal dialogue, and it was honestly one of the hardest decisions that we as a board have ever had to make.\u201d<\/p>\n
Attar said Norouz has deep ties with Iranian culture and history, and added that it has been celebrated even in moments of \u201ctragedy.\u201d However, after conversations with the ISCO board, chairs and the greater community, they felt a responsibility to respond to \u201cwhere the community\u2019s emotions were at.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shirazi also said a number of other Iranian student organizations throughout California and the U.S. have also canceled their Norouz celebrations. Attar said seeing other campuses pause their celebration helped affirm their decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
ISCO said it is planning to hold a smaller, more intimate celebration, according to the Instagram post. Shirazi noted that ISCO is focusing its events on offering community spaces where people can connect this semester.\u00a0<\/p>\n