ARMENIAN FEST CELEBRATES CULTURE
By Timothy C. Barmann
Providence Journal, RI
Nov 11 2007
CRANSTON – At the Armenian Fest at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet yesterday,
Kenny Topalian was in the middle of a conversation.
But his 5-year-old son, Shahan, needed his attention right away.
"Dad, Dad," he interrupted.
Topalian turned to him and said, "Spaseh," which means "wait"
in Armenian.
Even though Topalian, his wife, his parents and his three boys were
all born in the United States, he and his wife speak a mix of English
and Armenian at home. Just as he did, the boys take weekly language
lessons so they can learn Armenian, the language of their ancestors.
That type of attachment to culture and heritage is typical among
the 12,000 to 15,000 Armenians who live in Rhode Island, said Harry
Kushigian, one of the masters of ceremony at the annual festival.
Rhodes’ giant ballroom was filled with hundreds of people yesterday
who came to sample Armenian food, and to listen to traditional Armenian
music, and to dance.
There was rice pilaf and lamb shish kebabs; losh, a type of hamburger
made with ground beef and lamb, and kufta, a giant meatball. Then
there were the pastries, like katah, a sweet roll with raisin and
nut filling.
The Armenian Fest has been held each year since 1966, said Peter
"Doc" Bedrosian. The two-day event is the annual fundraiser for Sts.
Vartanantz Church, he said, and typically draws 3,000 to 5,000 people
and raises $70,000 to $75,000. Bedrosian is chairman of the board of
trustees for the Providence church.
The two other Armenian churches in Rhode Island, Sts. Sahag and Mesrob,
and Euphratest Evangelical Church, sponsor their own festivals in
the week before and the week after the Sts. Vartananz festival,
said Kushigian.
Rhode Island’s Armenian community is among the most vibrant in the
country, Kushigian said. Most Armenians who live in Rhode Island
were born here. Their parents or grandparents emigrated during the
Armenian massacres that began in 1915 in what was then the Ottoman
Empire and lasted for several years.
"They were incredible people," Kushigian said. They came with no
money and couldn’t speak English. But they formed communities,
centered around the church.
And they held onto their language and traditions, and passed them to
their children.
"All heritages have to be maintained," Kushigian said. "Everyone’s
ethnicity is important to themselves and to the world. Roots are very
important to the future generation and to maintain this common bond."
One reason for second- and third-generation Armenians to learn the
language is because the liturgy at Sts. Vartanantz is still delivered
in Armenian. And the younger generations very much want to carry on
the traditions, Kushigian said.
"That’s something that is instilled in prior generations, something
we’re very proud of."