Grand Armenian Festival brings community together

Each year the annual Grand Armenian Festival celebrates Armenian traditions and authentic dishes. The festival aims to preserve the tradition of end of harvest celebration which is celebrated in a tiny village of modern day Syria. The event was held at the California Armenian Home on Sept. 24.

A representative from Kebab Corner, Diana brought various Armenian dishes to the festival. Diana comes to the event to keep a cultural perspective and remember her roots.

“We are serving rice pilaf with chicken kebabs, beef kebabs, pita bread with garlic sauce and salad with Italian dressing,” Diana said. “We usually come out to this event to keep ethnicity and cultural perspective. We are a small community, but we continue to keep it alive and growing. Personally, I am homesick, and I am always dreaming of my country.”

The adults who gathered knew everyone in the community. Diana told The Feather Online that Kebab Corner did not have to advertise who they were at the event, because everyone already knew who they were. The Fresno Armenian community may be small, but they are united and have a close relationship with one another. In the plaza, live musicians played instruments and gave the event an exotic atmosphere.

Coming to the event out of boredom, Edward enjoyed tasting the Armenian dish, eetch. Edward plans to come back to the festival next year, provided he has the date and time of when it will be held.

“I came out to the festival today because it’s Saturday, and there is nothing else to do,” Edward said. “There is a lot of different dishes out here including, eetch, rice pilaf, beef kebabs and chicken kebabs. The food I have eaten has tasted great. I will definitely be coming back out to the festival next year if I know when it is.”  

A festival goer, Ragji enjoyed the food at the event. Ragji did not come to the festival for any particular reason but enjoyed the atmosphere the occasion brought.

“I came out to the festival because it was something to do,” Ragji said. “I have tried the chicken with garlic sauce and it was delicious. The atmosphere at the Armenian festival makes the event special to me. I am planning to come again next year.”

Local farmer, Susan Habib brought a variety of produce to the festival to sell. Habib tries the dishes at the festival and enjoys them every year.

“Traditionally, my father comes out to support the community and the organization,” Habib said. “We are local farmers and we like to come to the festival to sell our produce. We have a few specialty products that are very popular in the community. We are very happy to be here celebrating. This year we brought five different varieties of grapes, some dried green plums, fresh pistachios that you rarely see in markets, along with various other produce. Being in the Ag industry, traditionally a celebration like this is done after a harvest. We like to continue that tradition.”

From bounce houses to classic Armenian dishes, the Grand Armenian Festival brought diverse culture and recreational activities all into one festival. Along with classic dishes like falafel and beef kebabs, the festival also featured non-traditional dishes like popcorn and ice cream.  

In the warm afternoon hours, on goers of the festival were seen casually perusing the many booths selling a wide variety of products. Bounce houses captivated young minds, while the matured minds joined together in conversation and reflection.

For another news article read, Promo: FC hosts 25th annual Grandparents Day

This writer can be reached via Twitter: _samuel_cross_ and via email: Sam Cross.