There’s something for everyone at Montebello’s Armenian fair

Whittier Daily News (California)
May 15, 2010 Saturday

There’s something for everyone at Montebello’s Armenian fair

MONTEBELLO – Celebrate and learn something new about the Armenian
heritage at the Third Annual Armenian Food Fair & Fest from noon to 10
p.m. Saturday, May 22 at the Holy Cross Cathedral, 900 W. Lincoln Ave.

Enjoy food, music, dance and other activities. The event will also
feature a variety of intriguing Armenian cultural artifacts and
history, including the Gampr dog, whose breed originated in ancient
Armenia.

There will also be a chance for those in attendance to participate in
group dance instruction, cooking demonstrations, a drum circle and the
backgammon tournament.

The family-friendly festival will also feature a kids’s zone with game
booths, a bouncer, velcro wall and dunk tank.

Many vendors will be on hand to offer festival-goers a unique shopping
experience at a Vernissage Bazaar.

Guests will have the unique opportunity to trace the ancestral
timeline of Montebello Armenian-Americans from the days of ancient
kings to the present.

Ancient history will be reflected through the help of a curator from
the Ararat Home, who will have Armenian antiquities on display from
noon to 6 p.m. at the cultural booth.

Highlights include tapestry, which once belonged to Armenian kings and
an antique belt made by people of Van.

Professor Emeritus Carroll Kearley of Loyola Marymount University,
from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., will autograph copies of his most recent book
of poems, "The Armenian Watchmaker."

The cultural booth will show time-worn video footage of those refugees
who founded the Montebello Armenian-American community.

Finally, there will be an Armenian-themed artwork exhibit created by
the current generation.

Families with children interested in contributing art for display in
the cultural booth should contact [email protected] .

Admission is $2 for adults and free for children 12 and under.

There is a free raffle with paid admission.

For information, schedule of performances, activities and sponsorship,
visit or call (323) 893-9053.