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ARMENIAN FESTIVAL GROWS TO TWO DAYS
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/735489/armenian-festival-grows-to-two-days.html
17:36, 4 October, 2013
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. It took fingers from a considerable
portion of the globe to make the modest vegetarian grape leaves that
will sell three for $2 at this weekend's Armenian Festival.
As reports Armenpress referring to Daily Pilot, Wednesday morning,
one man and about a dozen women gathered around the food preparation
table at St. Mary Armenian Church in Costa Mesa, stuffing marinated
leaves with fillings of rice, onions and parsley.
Asked whether many members of the group came from Armenia, Ladies
Society chairwoman Claudette Mekalian asked those present to state
their countries of origin.
An eclectic series of responses echoed back: "Syria." "Turkey."
"Lebanon." "Bulgaria." "Belize." Others mentioned some truly exotic
faraway lands, like Fresno and Bakersfield.
Members of the congregation of the Eastside church may have taken
diverse roads to Costa Mesa, but they share a bond over faith and
festivity. And that also goes for the crowds that fill the annual
Armenian Festival, which began in 2009 and is expanding this year to
two days instead of one.
"We've made a lot of things," Mekalian said. "Our freezer and
refrigerator are filled with pastries. This isn't the first day we're
all together.
The Ladies Society is the heart of the church."
Saturday and Sunday, the church grounds will fill with vendor booths,
food, music, dancing and more. Officials will offer tours of the
church, while Tom Bozigian, the leader of the four-piece band that
will play both days, will teach traditional Armenian dances.
Archpriest Moushegh Tashjian said the church decided to expand the
festival to two days because of growing attendance. St. Mary first
began hosting the festival during its formative years two decades ago,
but with volunteers and resources limited, it put the event on hiatus
before long.
"It involved [a] lot of hard work, you know," Tashjian said. "We were
short. We were a growing parish."
By 2009, the church had expanded enough that Tashjian and his
colleagues opted to try the festival out again, and the response
encouraged them to keep going. This year's festival is expected to
require the help of about 120 church members.
Work in the kitchen began Tuesday, as the team prepared cheese boreg,
baklava and other traditional dishes. At the festival, chefs will
barbecue meat kabobs as well.
Festival chairwoman Debbie Simonian said that even though the event
celebrates Armenian culture, it draws a wide audience - and she always
enjoys making converts.
"It's fun because so many of them don't think they've ever tasted
Armenian food, and then when they taste it, they're surprised,"
she said.
"It's like, 'Oh, we eat kabobs all the time!'"
http://armenpress.am/eng/news/735489/armenian-festival-grows-to-two-days.html
17:36, 4 October, 2013
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 4, ARMENPRESS. It took fingers from a considerable
portion of the globe to make the modest vegetarian grape leaves that
will sell three for $2 at this weekend's Armenian Festival.
As reports Armenpress referring to Daily Pilot, Wednesday morning,
one man and about a dozen women gathered around the food preparation
table at St. Mary Armenian Church in Costa Mesa, stuffing marinated
leaves with fillings of rice, onions and parsley.
Asked whether many members of the group came from Armenia, Ladies
Society chairwoman Claudette Mekalian asked those present to state
their countries of origin.
An eclectic series of responses echoed back: "Syria." "Turkey."
"Lebanon." "Bulgaria." "Belize." Others mentioned some truly exotic
faraway lands, like Fresno and Bakersfield.
Members of the congregation of the Eastside church may have taken
diverse roads to Costa Mesa, but they share a bond over faith and
festivity. And that also goes for the crowds that fill the annual
Armenian Festival, which began in 2009 and is expanding this year to
two days instead of one.
"We've made a lot of things," Mekalian said. "Our freezer and
refrigerator are filled with pastries. This isn't the first day we're
all together.
The Ladies Society is the heart of the church."
Saturday and Sunday, the church grounds will fill with vendor booths,
food, music, dancing and more. Officials will offer tours of the
church, while Tom Bozigian, the leader of the four-piece band that
will play both days, will teach traditional Armenian dances.
Archpriest Moushegh Tashjian said the church decided to expand the
festival to two days because of growing attendance. St. Mary first
began hosting the festival during its formative years two decades ago,
but with volunteers and resources limited, it put the event on hiatus
before long.
"It involved [a] lot of hard work, you know," Tashjian said. "We were
short. We were a growing parish."
By 2009, the church had expanded enough that Tashjian and his
colleagues opted to try the festival out again, and the response
encouraged them to keep going. This year's festival is expected to
require the help of about 120 church members.
Work in the kitchen began Tuesday, as the team prepared cheese boreg,
baklava and other traditional dishes. At the festival, chefs will
barbecue meat kabobs as well.
Festival chairwoman Debbie Simonian said that even though the event
celebrates Armenian culture, it draws a wide audience - and she always
enjoys making converts.
"It's fun because so many of them don't think they've ever tasted
Armenian food, and then when they taste it, they're surprised,"
she said.
"It's like, 'Oh, we eat kabobs all the time!'"