A.P. NieGredie INQUIRING REPORTER iolida wulticult From page 9 Iranian culture. ‘The most important holiday on ‘the calendar is the Iranian new _year — NowRuz — which arrives at the spring sclstice, usually on March 21. In iran, schools clcse ‘for 13 days, -and people prepare by cleaning’ and painting their houses and buying new clothes. Families meet and visit each other; share big meals and, at the exact. moment. of the solstice, cheer and celebrate the arrival of the new year. important celebrations also corae. before and after, ‘the new year. ; On the Tuesday night before, Iranians’ gather around a fire. As, “part of the ceremony, they leap over the coals, saying to. the fire” “My weakness and my misfortune is to you . and your warmth and health is to me.”’- | : Ambleside Park has become a major.venue for this event — this March it: attracted about 5,000 people. moe Thirteen days after the new year, ‘Iranians gather again . to have a picnic outside, rain or shine, and throw sprouted grains into running water. The first day of autumn — Mehregan — is also a time for celebration, when Iranians give thanks for the food which has been harvested. The food of Iran bears some resemblance to that of the coun- try’s eastern and western neighbors in India and the Middle East. ‘Rice is a very important part of Annette Regan North Vancouver Before | started working full time | used to regularly go to filness classes. But, | plan to start going again really soon. Catherine Kruetzky North Vancouver Yes, 1 have. I go to aerobic classes and occasionally | use the weight room at the Lons- dale facility. Zahir A, Abdulla North Vancouver 1 use the Lonsdale recreation centre gym facility almost every day. The staff are ex- cellent and the price fits into my budget. Ronda Travers North Vancouver Yes. J] use the Mickey McDougall centre for aerobic classes, J like the instructor and all my girlfriends work out there. It’s also cheaper than a fitness club, celebrations bring ural mix together 44. Ambleside Park has become a major venue for (NowRuz celebrations} —- this March it attracted about 5,000 people. 99 the cuisine, but the meat stews . served on the rice are quite dif- ferent from Indian curries. Noushine Sefiddashti, daughter of the owner of Pars Deli on Lons- dale Avenue, says Iranian dishes are never hotly spiced. Sour . flavors from ingredients like limes are popular. And the recipes include many herbs sucht as dill and basil. Favored spices in- clude tumeric. To balance the ‘sour flavors, Iranians have a sweet tooth. as well, At the deli, brother Kaveh displayed delicacies including handmade cotton candy, sugared almonds, nougat and an Iranian version of baklava. Other treats are’ made with pistachio nuts, including pistachio brittle. Other, more .Middle Eastern dishes are available at Kababsara Restaurant, also on Lonsdale. It serves a variety of traditional Ira- nian dishes, including grilled meats and yogurt drinks flavored with herbs and spices. - Noushine’s’ The Iranian community has also spawned two dance groups, per- forming everything from ballet to folk dancing. And there are a number of Ira- nian artists on the North Shore, ‘showing their works, which range from Western-style to traditional Persian designs. For example, there wiil be a- display. of Iranian oil paintings at the Sik Purse Arts Centre in West Vancouver June 29 to July 4, and calligraphy from: Persian art ‘from July 20 to Aug. 1. The Iranian community has its own television programs on local cable stations, at least. two news- papers and a magazine, Paikmehr, published by the ‘Zoroastrian community. Iran is proud of other cultural ‘- “accomplishments. There is a copy « of the 2,500-year-old tablet’ of Koorosh, which is said to be the first declaration of human rights, -on the-roof of the United Nations Building i in | New York. in the past three months? THE NORTH Shore boasts | f recreation centres — 10 in North Vancouver and one in West Vancouver — that cater to the needs and wants of the fitness minded. Everything from swimming to fencing goes on in these integral community centres, staffed by professional trainers and fitness consultants. Programs are designed for all ages and interests, and the cost to the individual is usually far less than al a private club. For many North Shore residents, life with- out their local recreation centre would have little meaning. Fitness fanatics are a funny bunch. But it isn't only athletic endeavor that brings people to recreation centres. A bountiful menu of craft, art and education- al programs also available to the expanding mind. The North Shore News survey team began calling North Shore residents last Monday to find out how many people are using the taxpayer-funded recreation centres. In the closest split this year in one of our surveys, the unfit outstretched the fit, but only by a slim margin. Of those polled, 44.4% said that they had indeed used a recrea- tion centre in the past three months. The remaining 55.6% said they had not, though many reported they plan to in the near future. Sounds familiar. In a zone breakdown of our survey, the highest area of recrea- tion-using folk was in both Blueridge and Horseshoe Bay, with 56.6% reporting they had used a centre ih the past three months. The areas that reported the fewest recreation-centre users were: Central Lonsdale and Lower Lonsdale West, with four out of every five respondents stating they had not used a recreation facility in the past 90 days. Bo knows baseball. Bo knows football. But Bo don! t know real estate. Call the professional i in the real estate field that gets results. 926-6233 ROM “4 (ea! ‘MASTERS REALTY INC. y 1495 Bellevue