Toronto’s newest cultural district was officially inaugurated Saturday in North York, bringing joy and excitement to the Iranian community in the city.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Coun. Lily Cheng (Willowdale) and member of Parliament for Willowdale Ali Ehsassi joined Persian-Canadians at Centre Park to unveil Little Iran’s sign.
“On this Thanksgiving weekend, I want to show my gratitude to the Iranian community for coming together, celebrating,” Chow said Saturday. “Today is really a historic day.”
Centre Park was filled with live music, dancing, Persian food and desserts and art shows Saturday afternoon. But, soon, the park will also host its very own Persian garden.
Afkham Mardukhi, president of the settlement organization Intercultural Iranian Canadian Resource Centre, said the acknowledgement is truly significant.
“We really feel we have two homes,” she said. “It’s just another layer of belonging, another layer of recognition by Canadians.”
Iranian Women’s Organization of Ontario volunteer Maral Esmaeili said Little Iran makes her feel like she’s back home.
“It’s the same feeling, the same language, the same culture,” she said. “I invite everyone and all the cultures from everywhere in the world to come celebrate this with us.”
Attendee Mahsa Mortazavi, who joined the celebration at the Yonge Street and Centre Avenue park, said she’s always thought about this possibility whenever she’s seen other cultural districts like Little Italy or Chinatown.
“Over the course of many years that I’ve lived here, I’ve seen the Iranian community thrive and get bigger,” she said. “I see that they have really become a very reliable community in Canada, which is helping the whole society thrive.”
Sam Fayaz, whose family has owned a Persian grocery store for 35 years, said all that was missing was the city’s designation — Farsi speakers already considered the area Little Iran.
“[This is] as close as you’re going to get to the actual country,” he said.
“It’s going to bring the community closer and get us a little bit more recognition with regards to the community and people learning more about the Persian culture.”