20 December 2025 · Kasra Restaurant, Richardson, Texas
The Tolbert family at Kasra Restaurant in Richardson, celebrating Yalda — the longest night of the year — with the local Iranian community. The elaborate spread of fruit, bread, candles, and traditional objects was stunning.
Yalda is one of the oldest Persian celebrations in the world. It marks the winter solstice — the longest night of the year — and is a time for family, poetry, pomegranates, and the warmth of being together in the dark. Fatemeh and her husband invited Lori Tolbert and her family to celebrate with them and the Iranian community at Kasra Restaurant in Richardson.
Of course, the Tolbert said yes.
They were the only native English speakers in the room.
What followed was an evening of genuine cultural exchange — the kind that cannot be planned or scripted. The table was covered with the traditional Yalda spread: pomegranates, watermelon, dried fruits and nuts, candles, and a copy of the Divan of Hafez, the Persian poet whose verses are read aloud on Yalda night to tell fortunes and offer wisdom. The food was extraordinary. The company was warm and generous.
And then the music started.
Persian dancing filled the floor, and Lori’s family joined in. Vivian danced joyfully with Fatemeh in traditional Persian dress as the room blurred with movement around them. Nobody expected them to know the steps. Nobody cared. What mattered was that they were there, willing, present — guests who came not to observe but to participate.
Fatemeh teaches Vivian a few moves. The room made room for them.
This is what ESL 360 looks like from the other side. For one evening, Fatemeh was the teacher. Lori and her family were the students. They left with more knowledge than they had when they arrived — knowledge about Persian culture, about Yalda, about what it feels like to be the only people in a room who don’t speak the language, and about how much that gap can close when people simply open the door.
Thank you, Fatemeh and Kamal, for welcoming us into your celebration.