Taste of Armenia festival draws a hungry crowd

The thirty fourth annual Style of Armenia Road Pageant, one of many largest Armenian cultural occasions within the nation, in line with Gary Rejebian, cultural chair and occasion organizer, was held on Sunday from midday to six p.m. on Clark Road between Sherman and Benson Aves.

This competition has been going down yearly apart from 2020 when it was canceled resulting from COVID restrictions. 

The block dealing with St. James of Nisibis Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church was blocked off to vehicular site visitors, so the gang, estimated at greater than 1,500 all through the day, had room to buy, eat, dance and benefit from the music, courtesy of the band Mid-East Beat. The competition is an annual fundraiser for the church.

Armenians within the Chicagoland space and foodies normally stopped by to dig into some Armenian meals and wine. Folks stood in line for dinner and to choose up luggage of pre-ordered luggage of lahmajun, a skinny flatbread lined with meat, spices and typically greens. It’s typically nicknamed ‘Armenian pizza,’ though it’s not made with cheese. 

There have been a number of tables crammed with home made baked items together with cookies, walnut pakhlava, date pastries and breads.

Requested which of those treats had been “authentically Armenian,” Victoria Dakessian, a volunteer serving to to promote the desserts, mentioned, “They’re all from grandmas.”

One of many cookies, simit, was lined with sesame seeds and contained simply the correct quantity of sweetness and crunch. 

Leisure was supplied by a reside band, Mid-East Beat, whose members traveled from Racine, Wisconsin, to carry out. A few of the members have been enjoying collectively for 41 years. They accepted just a few requests from the gang, one among which generated some spontaneous dancing. Often known as a tamzara, it’s a conventional marriage ceremony dance that includes many steps and complicated shoulder actions. Younger college students of Armenian dance joined older, extra skilled dancers for a number of minutes of enjoyable, despite the humidity. The dancers appeared swish even in shorts and T-shirts.