About 80 people gathered at the Edmonds Waterfront Center Tuesday evening to celebrate Ramadan and Nowruz.

The House of Wisdom, a Lynnwood nonprofit that provides free tutoring to disadvantaged students,  partnered with the waterfront center to host the event, which included cultural food and presentations.

House of Wisdom Founder and President Ahmad Hilal Abid said the goal was to bring community members together and celebrate different cultures. Speaker Teresa Wippel, founder and CEO of the My Neighborhood News Network, talked about the bonding that occurs when people from diverse backgrounds come together for events like the one Tuesday night. “We learn about new traditions, we taste new food, we make new memories,” she said.

 The House of Wisdom provides tutoring and other services to students in need from grades K through 12. Many of their students are first-generation refugees or immigrants. The evening’s activities included a short film, Resilience, which told the story behind the House of Wisdom.

Abid immigrated at age 17 to Lynnwood from Kabul, Afghanistan in 2018. He originally began tutoring 20 immigrant and refugee students from his parents’ garage in Lynnwood in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. House of Wisdom has now expanded to several locations, including one at Edmonds College.

Ramadan, one of the three pillars of Islam, is a time for fasting and spiritual growth during the daytime hours, building self-control and gratitude, with reflections from the Qur’an and special prayers. When the sun sets, Muslims break their fast with a festive meal called an iftar and visit their community of friends and family. Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, ending with the sighting of the crescent moon.

Nowruz, or Persian New Year, is a 3,000-year-old celebration recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. It has its roots in Zoroastrian traditions, and marks the arrival of spring, symbolizing renewal, hope and new beginnings. It is an official holiday in more than 19 countries and is widely celebrated among diaspora communities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.