BAR HARBOR, Maine — Dozens joined together at St. Saviour’s Episcopal Church in Bar Harbor on Sunday for a concert to benefit Armenian refugees.
The event, hosted by the band Kotwica, aimed to raise money and awareness for families displaced by Azerbaijan’s September offensive against the self-governing and ethnically Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
“If situations like this are not called out, then countries and dictators are emboldened to do things against people.” Carolyn Rapkievian, who is Armenian herself and plays guitar for Kotwica, said Sunday.
The songs reflected a mix of Armenian, Greek, and Eastern European folk music, with a hearty dose of dance tunes. At one point, members of the audience joined hands with performers, waltzing around the pews.
To Carolyn’s husband David, the playing of a people’s music is an essential part of cultural preservation — for Armenians and others.
“I think celebrating the music of these culture helps keep the cultures alive,” David Rapkievian said.
With a basket full of cash donations, it was clear the crowd was enthralled—if not inspired—by the concert of Armenian folk music.
Still, it comes at a unique moment. With wars ongoing in Gaza and Ukraine, the appetite to involve oneself in another humanitarian cause—of helping Armenian refugees—was daunting to some.
For Weslea Sidon, who attended Sunday’s concert out of support for friends, a limit of emotional exhaustion has been reached.
“I don't know if I can feel any more moved about it because I'm in despair all the time at the state of the world,” Sidon said.
https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/nation-world/ways-to-support-armernia-concert-bar-harbor-maine/97-18d9adb0-0b43-47c2-ac34-cda40fe82217