ACOM Gaghant Party 2020 - 40th
Kicking off our 40th year, the annual ACOM Gaghant party was held on January 10th, 2020 at MidPointe Event Center in St. Paul.
As usual, our guests were welcomed to the event and for this special year, everyone attending was presented with a red 40th Year Anniversary tote bag displaying ACOM’s new logo. Also, during check-in, "Hye Bingo" cards were given out. The aim of the bingo player was to find people who had the characteristics detailed in the bingo boxes and get those people to sign off on the box. This was a great ice-breaker that encouraged guests to mingle and socialize.
What is it Like being Married to an Armenian - Second of a series
The second in a series of panel talks featuring spouses of Armenians was held Sunday November 3 at Keljik's Oriental Rug store in South Minneapolis. A great venue for an interesting afternoon. 24 people were in attenjdence to hear Donna Azarian and Leroy Erickson talk about their experiences with their Armenian Spouses. A more detailed written narrative is yet to come. In the meantime use the two links below for a replay of the event.
For an audio recording of the session click HERE.
Link to a video of the event - HERE
For pictures from the event click Read More
What is it Like being Married to an Armenian - First of a series
What is it like being married to an Armenian? The second in a series of panel talks featuring Armenian's spouses.
For an audio recording of the session click HERE.
Voski Ashoun 2019
ACOM Voski Ashoun (Golden Autumn) October 5th 2019
This years Voski Ashoun was again held at the Keljik Rug Store on Bryant avenue in Minneapolis.
30 people attended this years event. We had a Wine and Brandy Tasting hosted by Sommelier Leroy Erickson. Leroy provided 3 wines and 3 brandies for our tasting pleasure. Information about the wines and brandies selected this year can be found here. Leroy also provided a guide to Knowing your French Brandies.
ACOM Pool Party
The annual ACOM Pool Party
was held this year at Henry and Laurel Gregorian's Home.
Yolun Başinda/Beginnings
(Dir. Somnur Vardar, 2013, 86 mins, in Armenian/English/Turkish)
Beginnings follows a group of youths from Armenia and Turkey who meet in two cities on either side of the divide to reconcile the past, present and future of their perpetual conflict stemming from the Armenian genocide. First in Mush, then in Gyumri, their explorations of conflicting memories open up an intense dialogue about the nature of preserving history as a means of evaluating modernity and educating people to learn from historical error. While close relationships develop, these youth must question notions of friendship and trust within a quest to face issues of memory, history, genocide, denial and the demand for the truth.
What was it like growing up Armenian in...12th in series
Session 12 - "What was it like growing up Armenian in ..."
The 12th in the series - What was it like growing up Armenian in ... was held on Sunday July 21, 2019 at the Merriam Park Library. Presenters for this session were Mark Wiersbeck and his Mother Sarah Wiersbeck. Nairy moderated the session which was attended by 15 people. After an informative and interesting formal presentation, there was a short Q&A session followed by refreshments.
ACOM Annual Picnic
The ACOM Annual Picnic
was held Sunday June 23, 2019. The picnic was again held at Como Park in the West pavilion. a needed shelter from the rain that happened soon after the start time for the festivities. This rain did not dampen the spirits of the more than 30 people who attended. We even were resourceful (aren't all Armenians?) and were able to grill in the rain. Good food and fellowship reigned for the day!!!
ACOM Genocide Commemoration April 24th 2019
ACOM's Genocide Commemoration was held on April 24th 2019 at the Merriam Park Library in St. Paul. The event included a moderated panel of Armenians that were descendents of Genocide survivors. Tom Keljik moderated the discussion. The event started off with the attendees being asked to locate on a map where their ancestors were from in Historic Armenia.
Armenian Demonstration Exhibit at Festival of Nations
Armenians were present at this years Festival of Nations with the Armenian Cultural Organization of Minnesota (ACOM) presenting Dance on the World Stage (see Dance Ensemble) and in the demonstration area of the Bazaar. Janet Rith-Najarian brought the arts and crafts of Armenia to life with her engaging demonstration of felting and Hat making this year. Her [resentations have grown over the years from beginning as Silk Work artistry, then to incorporate wool fabric making and natural dyeing techniques, and now to felting and hatmaking. She has put together an impressive and colorful exhibit explaining the rich heritage that Armenians bring to the world. Browse through the picture gallery for examples of this years booth and the people involved.
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What was it like growing up Armenian in ...11th in Series
On March 24th, ACOM presented the 11th session in the series "What was it like growing up Armenian in ....". The panelists for this session were; Darla Kashian (Milwaukee,WI), Marty Meketarian (Cleveland, OH) and Margarita Aroutiunian (Yerevan, Armenia)
ACOM Gaghant Party 2019
ACOM's annual Gaghant Party was again held at Midpointe Event Center - on Friday January 11, 2019. Over 100 people were registered and provided with dinner catered by Mim's Restaurant, a Silent Auction, a Kids Game room, and dancing to Music Mundial.
What is it Like being Married to an Armenian - First of a series
INAUGURAL SESSION - WHAT IS IT LIKE BEING MARRIED TO AN ARMENIAN
ACOM presented the first in a new series of interesting and informative panel sessions, at the Merriam Park Library on September 30th 2018. The new series is entitled "What is it like being married to an Armenian" and was moderated by John Parker der-Boghossian. Topics covered by the panelists during the session dealt with - how long married, the panelists own ethnicity and experience in it, prior knowlege of Armenia and Armenians, involvement in the Armenian community since becoming married, what new things have they learned about Armenians, what are their likes (and dislikes,If any) of "Armenian ways". The following article by Bradley Erickson gives a capsule take on the session:
Voski Ashoun 2018
Voski Ashoun - 2018
was held at Keljik's Oriental Rug Store this year. The featured presenter was Dr. Charles Hajinian who gave a presentation on Urartian and Pre-Urartian Antiquities.