SCHOOL FESTIVAL CELEBRATES ARMENIAN CULTURE
By Max Zimbert

Glendale News Press
Nov 2 2009
CA

Photo: Patil Kilisian, 3, dances during a performance by the
Hamazkayin Valley Chapter Nairi Dance Group during the 35th
anniversary celebration of Chamlian Armenian School in La Crescenta
on Sunday. (Scott Smeltzer/News-Press)

CRESCENTA VALLEY — Garo Melikian, a father of two, attended the
Armenian Cultural Day festival Sunday to see his daughters recite
poetry, songs and skits in front of a crowd of hundreds at Vahan and
Anoush Chamlian Armenian School.

His fourth-grade daughter, Nairi, is improving her Armenian language
speaking and understanding each year. She and her classmates recited
poems and songs in Armenian, and Melikian could see her improvement.

Watching his daughter perform is what a father lives for, he said.

"She grows and performs much better every year," Melikian said. "It’s a
very proud day for as a parent. That’s why we’ve been taking pictures."

Hundreds of children, parents, grandparents and school teachers
and staff celebrated the annual Cultural Day with an event of songs,
dancing, poetry and food. Students and school staff wore white T-shirts
with the phrase, "School is where culture is kept."

Enrollment remains strong at the first-through-eighth-grade campus.

The school educates roughly 500 students and is one of few Armenian
schools that offers language classes in western and eastern dialects.

"It’s a great show of unity," said Saro Nazarian, chair of the Eastern
Armenian Department. "Encouraging kids to learn their heritage and
history .â~@~B.â~@~B. they recognize how their ancients lived in
their homeland, and that’s what we try to convey to these kids who
were born in the U.S. in a multiethnic society."

The festival celebrates the creation of the Armenian alphabet in the
fifth century, Nazarian said.

"Armenians are one of the most ancient cultures on Earth, and we want
to keep that alive," he said.

The Cultural Day provided valuable learning opportunities for Armenian
language and history instructor Vilma Kouyoumjian’s first-, third-
and sixth-graders.

"This is how they learn," she said. "It’s not a Broadway show, but
it’s fun, and it is memorable."

Her students master the language by repetition and by doing. Many
students read arags, or short Armenian fables, aloud in class.

Kouyoumjian recounted one about a fox that criticized a lion for
producing only one cub. The story is illustrative of quality versus
quantity, Kouyoumjian said.

"The themes can be applied to all humankind," she said. "When they
listen to how you speak [Armenian], they pick up and use your words."

The day was meant to promote a day of belonging and community, said
Carmen Ohanian, who logged countless hours planning the festival with
other parents on the organizing committee.

"It’s a lot of work for parents, but the results we see, it’s why
we send our kids to Armenian school and see them becoming Armenian
American citizens," she said.

Students recited patriotic poems in front of a mural of men and women
in traditional Armenian dress. In the center of the background was
a ripe pomegranate, a sign of prosperity and abundance in Armenian
culture.

"Pomegranates are always broke in half for good luck," said Varouj
Keledjian, who was selling handmade jewelry pieces and bronze
pomegranate sculptures. "There’s supposed to be 365 seeds for every
day of the year. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or big — that’s
what they say. I’ve never counted."

Across the yard, Armenian food was being prepared. Parent volunteers
served soujouk, taboule and zahtar, a crepe-style dish with thyme
and sesame seeds. Harissa, a barley and shredded beef dish, was also
available. Three self-serve bowls of cumin, cinnamon and paprika let
eaters add some kick.

Red peppers are an important ingredient in many Armenian dishes,
as are onions and garlic, the cooks said.

Houri Douzjian bakes cookies, turnovers and a lasagna dish using
traditional Armenian recipes. Her cookie recipe calls for mastic,
a Greek and Mediterranean gum, as well as walnuts.

Eighth-graders Arman Shabanian and Allen Dishigrikyan said the food was
the highlight of their day. But they also acknowledged they would soon
be graduating and would miss the friends and teachers they discovered
at Chamlian.

"It’s important to know who we are and important to express that,"
Allen said. "It’s the least we can do."