Picnic an Assyrian family reunion Gathering follows convention, a tradition nearly 40 years old; attendees come from all over .  By MELANIE TURNER BEE STAFF WRITER Last Updated: May 31, 2005  Old friends greeting each other with a kiss on each cheek. Women picking grape leaves off the banks of the river. Men playing backgammon. All of these activities are characteristic of the Assyrian culture. And they are just some of what could be found Monday at an all-day picnic at Modesto's Tuolumne River Regional Park. The picnic, which draws Assyrians from across the country and beyond, each year marks the finale to an annual four-day Assyrian State Convention, with events in Turlock and Modesto. In its 39th year, the event is something of a family reunion for many of the more than 1,000 who were expected to gather in the park Monday. Lenard Isaac, 42, has attended the picnic each of the past 24 years he's lived in Turlock. About a dozen of his first cousins showed up from Los Angeles, he said. There are 32 people in his immediate family alone - brothers and sisters and their children.    Marodeen Ebrahimzadeh of Los Angeles sold -shirts bearing the Assyrian flag Monday. TED BENSON/THE BEEPicnic attendees join in a folk dance at Modesto's Tuolumne River Regional Park on Monday. The annual picnic marks the end of the Assyrian State Convention with family reunions and lots of homemade food..TED BENSON/THE BEE "So anytime you throw a party, there's 32 people at least," said Isaac. Family is a central part of the Assyrian culture. The annual picnic is a way to help families stay tight, even in the United States where people often live fast-paced lives miles apart. Robert Avanes, in town from Dallas, said he comes every year to see his parents and other relatives. "I like to hang out with my own community because I believe in my culture and its values," he said. "They mean something." He proudly showed off his mother's homemade dolma (meat, rice and spices wrapped in grape leaves) and a rice and berries dish, as well as her homemade sugar cubes, which Assyrians suck on while drinking hot tea. "Homemade is the best," said 22-year-old Richard Avanes, Robert's brother. The Assyrian family from Modesto also had relatives in from San Jose, Los Angeles and Holland. Robert Avanes was proud that his 14-year-old cousin, Aldrin Yousefian, purchased a T-shirt decorated with the Assyrian flag. "I adore that," he said, hugging Yousefian. "This is excellent." Yousefian admitted he's not fluent in the Aramaic language that his elders speak, but he's working on it. Proud of their heritage Across the park, 21-year-old Linet Thomas of Turlock, who was helping sell the T-shirts, said they are hoping that the shirts encourage young people to be proud of their heritage, and others to ask questions. "Not a lot of people know about (the Assyrian culture)," she said. Besides keeping the culture going, Assyrians know if they show up to the Memorial Day event there's a good chance they'll bump into an old friend or relative, or meet someone who knows a family member. "We just met and we already found out that he speaks to my mom's uncle," said Thomas, who was helping Marodeen Ebrahimzadeh of Los Angeles sell Assyrian artifacts and T-shirts. It's also a time for Assyrians to catch up. "We take notes on who's getting fatter, who's losing more hair," Ebrahimzadeh said. "It's kind of fun. Plus we see the next generation." Assyrians reflected Monday on where the culture has been, and where it's going. Keeping their culture alive The good news, Ebrahimzadeh said, is that the Assyrian people have kept their language and culture for close to 7,000 years, despite scattering the globe since the Assyrian empire fell in 612 B.C. The Assyrians say their nation's ancestral homeland included northern Iraq, northern Iran, south-eastern Turkey and southern Syria. Assyrians, who are Christian, say that religion-based conflicts over the decades have kept them on the move. "We are survivors," Ebrahimzadeh said. While Assyrians are safe in America, he said, they also fear that their culture could be disappearing here. "Our kids are not speaking the language any more," he said. "Once you lose the language, you lose the culture." Still, the United States provides Assyrians with jobs and the opportunity for a higher education. Thomas said she graduated from California State University, Stanislaus, a year ago at age 20. She said her parents fled Iran because children were being kidnapped to become soldiers there. "We knew we wanted to come to America," she said. "The land of freedom and opportunity."

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