Community Events & News
A Tale of Persian Splendour – Nowruz 2025
Saturday, March 29th 2025 at The Rise, Maylands
Nowruz 2025 for the Zoroastrian Community in Perth was a unique one. It was a Tale of Persian Splendour celebrating the harmony between the Irani & Parsi Zoroastrians through Culture, Art & Food organised by the Zoroastrian Association of Western Australia (ZAWA).
The program wove through some learning and insights into Nowruz as well as entertainment.
Guests were welcomed through the doors in traditional fashion with a sprinkling of rose water, a view in the mirror and sweets. This was all done by the children.
The evening started off with a Gatha rendition in candlelight by Aryan Khosravi followed by a video
presentation by Dr. Rashna Writer, a political scientist and author of several books on Zoroastrianism & history of Ancient Iran. The video showcased the Origins of Nowruz linking it to the Amesha Spentas & the Haftseen Table.
This event placed a special emphasis on the children of the community, combining opportunities for learning with engaging entertainment. About 18 children participated in a play that explained the symbols of the Haftseen Table finishing off with “Chayye Hame Zarathushti” in great gusto.
An Art & Craft Activity was launched based on the theme of the Seven Amesha Spentas. An initial zoom meeting gave the children a basic understanding of these seven immortal beings and each family was asked to pick one and create an art form depicting that Amesha Spenta. These were put up on display at the hall and the children explained their artwork to the visitors. The creativity and effort behind each one was commendable.
Professional dancers entertained with Persian dances, both modern and traditional, engaging mirthfully with the audience.
Guests were taken on a journey to the wonders of the Haftseen Table ….a layout that was splendidly elaborate but conveyed a message of simplicity and humbleness.
The President of ZAWA, Zarine Kharas, addressed the guests sharing some principles of life tied in with the significance of Nowruz and thanked the many individuals whose time, effort and commitment had helped make this event such a great success.
Dinner was a delicious combination of Iranian & Parsi Specialities – Aush-E-Mir and Sabzi Polo by the Iranians and Tamota-per-Eeda, Cashew Chicken & Lamb Gravy by the Parsis, wonderfully wrapped up with Almond & Orange Cake served with Ice-cream.
All those who worked towards this event reaffirmed the values that bind us – respect, kindness and compassion. They sought out new opportunities for collaboration and created a space where all thrived.
By this collective rejuvenation, the evening truly encompassed the spirit of Nowruz in its entirety.
Bunnings Sausage Sizzle
Saturday, March 2nd 2025 at Bunnings, Subiaco
Our annual fundraiser always makes for great fellowship among the hard work. Our ZAWA youth enjoy their time at the grill and serving customers. This time our volunteer list outdid itself and we thank the many volunteers and the supporters who trudged down on a hot day to partake of the sausage sizzle.
Sports Carnival
Saturday, February 23rd 2025 at Santich Park, Lake Coogee
Taking off from the success of last year’s Sports Carnival, this year saw a couple of different and interesting events. The enthusiasm of all, from the littlest at age 4 to the seniors in their 70’s, was palpable. The team games ensured that we all got a great cardio workout, the relay had us cheering
like crazy and the Tug-of-War, of course, was the icing on the cake.
As we chomped on burgers and sipped on colas, we joked and laughed and teased in true Bawa style.
Throwball / Volleyball Match Time
Saturday, February 1st 2025 at Lord’s Recreation Centre, Subiaco
Such a fun morning for the sporting members. Many started off without knowing anything about Throwball, including the kids, but by the second match, everyone was a star. The kids thoroughly enjoyed placing the ball strategically, catching many of us adults, unawares !
Even the die-hard Volleyball fans, all male of course, sauntered over to the Throwball court, drawn
by the shouts of victory.
Another feather in the cap of the Sports Sub-Committee !
MeAt and Greet – Riverside Gardens, Bayswater
November 10th 2024
The TT tournament was closely followed by the Meat & Greet family event. It was heartening to see so many families gather to picnic with barbecue, salad and chocolate cake.
We honoured Late Col. Ronnie Mistry, for his advocacy of community building and also because it happened to be his birthday. His son, Cawas, along with daughter-in-law, Nikita, graced the cake cutting which was done jointly by all the children present, keeping in mind Ronnie Mistry’s great love for children.
Table Tennis Tournament – UWA Sports Centre
November 9th 2024
An excellently organised event by the Sports Sub-Committee on a Saturday morning. With over 30 ZAWA Sports enthusiasts, the morning was one lled with victory roars,
screams of frustration and much laughter. Age was no bar….participation went across from the ages of 6 to 75. It was also an opportunity for two new Zoroastrian immigrants to get to know the fun-loving ZAWA members and enjoy participating even though they had never played Table Tennis.
INTEGRATION, especially between the Irani Zoroastrians and the Parsis, is one of the primary goals of the current Managing Committee. This event was one big tick against that goal and we have the Sports Sub-Committee of Narius Irani, Porus Patalwala, Adil Bodhanwalla and Deric Tadiwala to thank for that.
An Evening Boman Irani – Mas Vino Wine Bar at the Pan Pacific Hotel
October 25th 2024
Fifty members of ZAWA spent an interesting and enjoyable evening at Mas Vino Bar at the Pan Pacific interacting with Boman Irani. Between platters of charcuterie and cheese and glasses of wine and beer, Boman kept the members entertained with his wit. As always, several Parsees were navigating their family tree in the hope of finding a connection to the movie star !
All in all, it was a wonderfully classy evening well spent.
The 28th Annual General Meeting of the Zoroastrian Association of WA was held on Sunday, September 8th 2024 at the Bayswater Tennis Club at 11.30 am.
Members networked ,prior to the start of the meeting with coffee, sandwiches and cake, and lent a very interactive angle to the AGM.
We appreciate all who took the time and effort to attend the AGM and congratulate the New Committee that has now taken over.
A special thanks to the previous Committee who worked tirelessly to give the community members many memorable events.
We wound up the year with the Parsi New Year event at Stirling Leisure Centre at Hammersley. The Lagan-Nu-Bhonu, catered in-house, was a resounding success as was the Bingo, ably managed by Narius Irani and his sons, Aryan & Reyan. The belly dancers provided the excitement and entertainment along with foot tapping music by DJ Aldric.
Quiz & Chaat Night – July 13th 2024 at Canning Town Hall, Cannington
What a fun evening this was at the beautifully restored heritage Canning Town Hall.
We started off with Bollywood Restaurant’s Chaat which rapidly vanished off the serving platters – Pani Puri, Samosa Tikki Chole Chaat, Dahi Puri and Vada Pav. Their service and quality of chaat was excellent and we look forward to having them cater once more at one of our future events.
Six teams competed for the prizes, through rounds of General Knowledge, Science, Music, Sports, Zoroastrianism, Emojis and a Mixed Bag which was a rapid fire round.
But as always, the best part of the evening was the community spirit and bonhomie that resonated throughout the evening.
We look forward to many more such evenings. Thank you to all who made the event such fun and a complete success.
Paws in the Park – Sunday, April 14th 2024 at Riverside Gardens, Bayswater
On a beautiful Sunday morning, ZAWA dog lovers met up at the Riverside Gardens to pick up a few training tips from Adam & Brody (Freedom K9). The big question of the morning was…..were the Dogs being trained or were their Owners being trained ?????
The event was a great hit with a little learning, a little exercise and lots of fun and laughter.
Thank you to all of you who made this event a huge success. We will certainly be planning another one soon.
Navroze Celebrations – March 23rd 2024
The community met at Rimondo’s By The River to celebrate the spring festival of Navroze.
The night was a resounding success with a sumptuous Italian spread at each table that only Rimondo’s can serve up and foot tapping music by the Summer Club Band that had many of us on the dance floor till the very end of the evening.
Location: Santich Park, Lake Coogee, Date of Event: 3rd March 2024, Time of Event: 9.00 am – 1.00 pm
What a fabulous morning at ZAWA’s inaugural Sports Carnival; even the rain !gods smiled down upon us! It was a busy morning to say the least Game of kids soccer – Game of adult soccer – 100m sprints – Open; Ages 6-8 – Boys; Ages 9-14 – Girls; Ages 9-14 – Men – Ladies – Turbo javelin throws – Ages 6-8 – Ages 9-14 – (Ball & bucket race (Ages 0-6 –
legged race-3 – Ages 6-14 – Men & Women – (Lemon & spoon race (Open – (Block building race (Ages 0-6 – (Lemon relay – 50+50+100+100 (Open –
Tug-of-war – Ages 6-14 – Men & Women –
- We closed the event with a prize distribution & BBQ lunch
Thank you to EVERYONE who pitched in to help and attended in large numbers. - We hope to make this an annual event
Money Mindset
Three ZAWA stalwarts, Sorab Bulsara, Narius Irani & Adil Bodhanwalla, curated and presented a workshop on Financial Literacy
The empowering workshop covered topics on Bank Accounts, Loans, Insurance, Taxes, Investments & Budgeting.
There was a great deal of interaction throughout the session, with many of the youth enthusiastically questioning, sharing their views and leaving with far greater knowledge than they came in with
Location: Bunnings Subiaco, Date of Event: February 3rd 2024
Our annual fundraiser was once more a smashing success. Held at the Subiaco Bunnings centre, our youth members, donned on their new aprons with our latest memorabilia logo, and enthusiastically got everything ready well in time for opening We also had flyers ready this time for everyone who asks what “Zoroastrian” means. A picture of the flyer can be found with the photos via the link below.
Silver Jubilee Celebrations – A Milestone for ZAWA – August 20th 2022
Twenty five years since the founding members gathered to form the Zoroastrian Association of Western Australia, the members of ZAWA took pride in celebrating the cultural bonds that tie them together, along with many dignitaries and guests.
The event was a gala nite held at the Pan Pacific Hotel ballroom filled with over 200 guests. The hour long program consisted of :
A solo vocal by Farita Dadachanji opened the evening to a beautiful start
- A kids choir of 20, singing Zoroastrian songs, received a standing ovation
- A colourful, well choreographed Dance Performance by seven young ladies from the community
- A duet vocal by Farita Dadachanji & Shalayne Khambatta, accompanied on the keyboard by Kaitlyn Buhariwalla
- A stand-up comedy by Simone Springer
- Speeches by Chairperson, Hoshang Deboo and Chief Guest, Dr. Tony Buti, Minister for Finance, Aboriginal Affairs; Racing and Gaming; Citizenship & Multicultural Interests,
Silver Jubilee Sub-Committee :
- Hutokshi Surty
- Kuky Wadia
- Merzin Ghadiali
- Ruki Mehta
- Parizad Mehta
- Tanaz Ghadiali
- Zarine Kharas
- Zerophie Deboo
Master of Ceremonies : Mehernosh Buhariwalla
Singers/Music :
- Farita Dadachanji
- Shalayne Khambatta
- Kaitlyn Buhariwalla
Children’s Choir : Coached by Narius Irani & Zerophee Deboo.
- Reyan Irani
- Aryan Irani
- Freyana Mistry
- Zarina Mistry
- Navazeish Misdtry
- Delisha Mistry
- Aryan Mistry
- Nazneen Mistry
- Jayaan Kapadia
- Kaiyana Kapadia
- Erezaav Khambatta
- Darien Khambatta
- Parshaan Khambatta
- Jasmine Khambatta
- Xavien Surty
- Katrina Ghadiali
- Ava Mazdayesni
- Derik Patalwala
Music composed & arranged by Zubin Balaporia, Bandwagon Studio, Mumbai
Dancers :
- Diana Patalwala
- Kyra Deboo
- Kaiana Wadia
- Parinaz Irani
- Dilkhush Parabia
- Zeel Parabia
Choreography by Diana Patalwala
Photographer : Behram Cooper
We acknowledge & appreciate the generous Donors who helped make this event a success.