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Date: 8/29/2023
SPRINGFIELD — For decades, the St. Mark Armenian Church has hosted an annual festival and, according to Father Nigoghos Aznavourian, this year’s event could not come at a better time.
The festival is set to take place on Sept. 3 from 12-6 p.m. at the St. Mark Armenian Church in Springfield, 2427 Wilbraham Rd.
Aznavourian explained that the event is a fundraiser for ministries at the St. Mark Armenian Church.
The festival has a plethora of Armenian foods that are “unique” to the culture such as losh kebab, chicken kebab, pork kebab, porov kufteh and pilav. There are also different pastries and sweets including paklava, kurabia, katayif, choreg, yalanchi and Armenian coffee.
Live music will be performed by the Greg Krikorian Ensemble — an Armenian band — along with dancing. There will also be a raffle, tours of the church sanctuary and Armenian items available to purchase, such as jewelry.
The event is free to attend, however there is a cost for food. It is open to the public and walk-ins are welcome — registration is not required. The festival will take place rain or shine, as there will be a tent in the case of inclement weather.
Aznavourian noted that as this is done as a fundraiser, there are sponsorship opportunities available. If someone wants to become a sponsor, they can do so by visiting stmarkarmenianchurch.org or facebook.com/stmarkarmenianchurch.
“This comes at an important time for us,” as some Armenians are under blockade, Aznavourian said. He explained, “The 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are under blockade by Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan claims that this region is Azeri territory, when it has always been predominantly Armenian and was considered to be an autonomous region, even during the Soviet Union.”
In 1991, the population of the region had a referendum declaring independence from Azerbaijan after the fall of the Soviet Union, in accordance with the fundamental human right of the “self-determination of peoples” accorded to all by the United Nations.
Aznavourian went on to say that the United Nations Security Council hosted an emergency meeting on the blockade last week after former International Court of Justice Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo sounded the alarm that there is a “reasonable basis to believe that genocide is being committed against Armenians,” according to CNN. “Some of our church members have family in this region,” shared Aznavourian.
Nonetheless, he said the Armenians have been able to “persevere” and “survive and thrive.”
He concluded, “[We] are grateful to share our culture.”