AIRS OF ARMENIA FILL PARK FREE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES TRADITIONAL MUSIC, ART FORMS.Byline: - Dominic Berbeo More than 1,000 people came out Sunday for food, music and dance at the second annual Armenian Cultural and Arts Festival An arts festival or art fair is a festival that focuses on the visual arts, but which may also focus on other arts. Arts festivals in the visual arts are exhibitions. at Woodley Park Woodley Park refers to the following:
The cello-like kamancha and other traditional instruments produced hypnotic hypnotic /hyp·not·ic/ (hip-not´ik) 1. inducing sleep. 2. an agent that induces sleep. 3. pertaining to or of the nature of hypnosis or hypnotism. music for groups of dancers dressed in long, colorful veils and gowns. There was also an array of booths serving food like lahmajoun, a flat pizza-like sandwich; babaghanouj, a ground eggplant eggplant, name for Solanum melongena, a large-leaved woody perennial shrub (often grown as an annual herb) of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family), and also cultivated for its ovoid fruit. paste; and sarma, a marinated grape-leaf wrap. In all, there were some 10 song and dance performances on a stage at the free event. ``October is considered a cultural month for Armenians, so there are always festivals,'' said Hovig Mahserejian, who set up a booth to sell books and crafts from his Hye Keer shop in Reseda. Some of his wares included children's books, hand-made rugs and carved miniature Khatchkars, or traditional crosses that are prominent in Armenian religious architecture. Armenians this year are also celebrating the 1,700th anniversary since the country became the first to officially accept the Christian religion. Gaspar Gharibyan, a Glendale sculptor who emigrated from Armenia, displayed some of his work at the booth. ``It's important to keep our culture alive through the arts,'' said Gharibyan, whose pieces have been shown in museums and art shows around the world. Sevag Aivazian, one of the festival organizers, said the event was an attempt to promote the arts with youths and Armenian schools in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area. ``We would like to see every school with an arts program, including cultures from around the world, not just Armenian culture,'' he said. Some just came out to enjoy the warm weather and entertainment. ``I like to see all the people out here,'' said Michael Vanesian, a Reseda engineer hanging out in the shade with some friends and his pet dog. ``But the best thing about it is it's free.'' The event was sponsored in part by the city of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department The City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department is the official Los Angeles, California, USA arts council. The agency approves the design of structures built on or over City property and accepts works of art to be acquired by the City. , and organized by the Armenian Cultural and Arts Festival Inc., a nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. group that promotes Armenian culture. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Friends dance to traditional Armenian music at Sunday's festival in Woodley Park. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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