Category: 2017

Expansion Plans for the California Armenian Home

Vanyan Gary
Your Central Valley, California

By: Stefani Booroojian

 

    65 years ago, ten men created what would prove to be a clean, safe and loving home for Fresno area seniors.  The California Armenian Home on East Kings Canyon Ave. originally served only the local Armenian population, but that soon changed and now it’s a home for all.

   George Juarez has worked at the Armenian Home for 42 years.  He started as a dishwasher as a teen, and most recently served as Director of Operations.  He started at a time, when the majority of its Armenian residents had immigrated to the United States as survivors of the Armenian Genocide.   “They went through time and survived the Genocide and I couldn’t figure out why they were having tattoos on their wrists and the side of their ears.  So they explained to me they were escaping from camps,” says Juarez.

   But Juarez will soon have a new role.  He set to be Executive Director of the Villas, a big expansion at the home.      

   Lucy Kazanjian Grayson serves as Board President of this non-profit Home.  She says the expansion was a part of the original plans 65 years ago, and the board has worked hard to raise the funds to make it happen.  “When I drive into the parking lot, I’m just like ‘Oh my gosh.  I can not believe this is happening ‘,” Grayson says.  “We did market studies and we found there really is a need for it in Fresno.”

   The home which now provides independent and assisted living housing for its nearly 150 residents, will soon expand to include 110 more housing units, 12 villas and a 36 bed memory unit.  “If you come here .. You can stay for whatever your life is.  And the whole idea is that you’re not coming here to die– you’re coming here to live,” Grayson says.

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Culture: Raspberry festival to be held in Armenia’s Syunik province

Nahapetian Zhanna
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. A raspberry festival will be held Saturday in Armenia’s Syunik province with World Vision Armenia’s support.

The festival is in its second year. The fist festival was held in 2016 in Aragatsotn province on the flank of Mount Aragats.

Tamara Barbakadze, World Vision Armenia project manager in Aragatsotn province, told Novosti-Armenia that climate and human resources factor for growing raspberry are very favorable in Syunik, just as in Aragatsotn.  

She said that the organization embarked on creating of farmer groups for growing raspberries in Aparan, Aragatsotn province, yet two years ago, and now there are five such groups made up of ten farmers each.    

Each of the groups grows around 130 tons of raspberries every year. This is 20 to 30 tons more than before.

Barbakadze said that the organization doesn’t finance farms, since it wants them to manage their crops and their business independently.  

«First of all, we help them to establish ties with purchasers and other donor organizations,» she said. -0– 

Food: Restaurant nourishes more than just bodies

Hovik Karapetian 
Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)
 Thursday
Restaurant nourishes more than just bodies
By Dianne Williamson
When Van and Mary Aroian’s son came to Worcester from Texas to
celebrate his dad’s 90th birthday, the couple knew they wanted to take
him to their favorite local restaurant.
The trio was on its way to Volturno’s June 28, with Van at the wheel,
when a driver ran a red light on Chandler Street near June and T-boned
Van’s car on the driver’s side. The airbags deployed and Van crashed
through a light pole and hit the brick side of Diana’s restaurant.
“My mom plays the accordion and their car looks just like her
instrument,” said their son, Mihran Aroian. “It’s a miracle that my
father survived.”
Mihran suffered minor injuries and 86-year-old Mary broke her arm. Van
suffered the worst of it, with cuts and bruising all over his body,
along with injured knees. He was admitted to UMass Memorial Medical
Center for five days, then transferred to a local rehabilitation
facility.
“We really got whopped,” was how Van put it. “We got whacked all over
the place.”
Van and Mary have been married for 60 years. They raised Mihran and
his brother in a single-family home on June Street, where they still
live. Van is a retired urban planner and historian for the Armenian
community; Mary is an artist.
About once a week they eat at Volturno’s on Shrewsbury Street. Van is
a diabetic and loves the fresh salmon and whole-wheat pasta; his wife
appreciates the homemade food and extensive wine list. Both enjoy the
hospitality of the staff, which always greets them warmly.
“Restaurants are about more than food,” said owner Greg Califano Jr.
“It’s about making connections and relationships. We want to create an
atmosphere where people come and feel like family. We wanted to create
a community.”
The elder Aroian had been in rehab for five days when his wife and son
resumed their aborted trip to Volturno’s. Mary was greeted warmly and
asked about her husband’s absence, so she recounted the accident. At
some point during the meal, her son
See williamson, B2
ended up speaking to Greg Califano Sr. — a partner at Volturno’s with
his son – and his wife, Elizabeth.
“Your parents are so sweet,” Elizabeth told Mihran. “What can we do to help?”
Jokingly, Mihran replied that his father complains about the food at
rehab and wished he could be eating at Volturno’s instead. In
addition, the kitchen at rehab was plying him with pizza, pasta,
pancakes and other food not suitable for diabetics. He was losing
weight and his blood sugar level was high.
“I can fix this problem,” Elizabeth responded.
The next afternoon - after refusing to let the Aroians pay for their
dinner - Elizabeth showed up at Van’s bedside with a healthy lunch:
wild salmon on a bed of greens and salad. As Van devoured his meal,
the pair discussed art, culture, travel and family
“The food was quite a gift, believe me,” Van said. “And I’m a sick
guy, I’m not the most entertaining man in the world, but she still
stayed for two hours.”
Before she left. Elizabeth told Van she planned to bring him lunch
every day until he left rehab. A stubborn man, Van objected.
Eventually, he agreed she could bring him one more meal, which she
did, the day before he was discharged.
Van left rehab on Sunday and is doing well, but it’s too early to say
how he’ll respond to Elizabeth’s plan to continue bringing him lunch
to his home on June Street. But it’s not too early to note that both
Mihran and his brother celebrate their birthdays today, and the
Aroians will spend it nowhere else than with their adopted family at
Volturno’s.
Mihran, 59, a 1980 WPI grad, is a professor at the University of Texas
at Austin. He lives in Austin with his wife and kids; his wife has
also come to Worcester for tonight’s celebration.
“There’s a saying called, ‘Texas friendly,’ “ Mihran noted. “Texans
are great, but I’ve never seen a gesture like this. People don’t do
this kind of thing. That family really believes in the restaurant
they’ve created.”
Tonight, then, the Arorians will celebrate with good food and wine at
an eatery that serves up more than fine food. They will offer toasts
to birthdays, family, good fortune and the sweetest of small gestures
that help define a community.
“We’ll have a wonderful dinner and I can’t imagine otherwise,” Mihran
said. “You know why? I could have lost my parents, but they’re alive.
For me, yeah, it’s my birthday. But it’s mainly a celebration of life.
And it’s a miracle.”

First Internet Alphabet computer classes for residents of Armenia’s Amasia village and Alaverdi city finish

Emil Lazarian
ARKA, Armenia

YEREVAN, July 21. /ARKA/. The first Internet Alphabet computer classes for middle age residents of Amasia village and Alaverdi city as well as for those who are already above 50 have finished, the press office of Rostelecom reported on Thursday.    

Young volunteers delivered classes in Armenian in computer rooms furnished with computers by the telecommunication company. The classes have been organized by Rostelecom and World Vision Armenia.  

The classes were ended in a ceremony of handing certificates, where every trainee expressed opinion. 

There were teachers, engineers, medical workers and library personnel among the attendees. 

Taking into account the large number of people wanting to attend Internet Alphabet computer classes, the organizers have decided to provide them again in Amasia and Alaverdi. 

GNC-ALFA CJSC, Armenian subsidiary of Russia’s Rostelecom, started selling telecommunication services in December 2012 under Rostelecom brand. In late 2012, it offered super-speed Internet as well as IP television and telephony services to clients.  

The company’s fiber optic network covers 80% of Armenia’s territory stretching 2,500 kilometers across the country. 

The company has built a backbone fiber optic cable from Iran, as well as two outputs through Georgia. –0—-

Culture: The 6th Mime Festival starts in Tsaghkadzor

Dabaghian Diana
Public Radio of Armenia

15:19, 21 Jul 2017
Armradio

The 6th Leonid Yengibaryan Mime Festival starts off tomorrow in Tsaghkadzor. The festival is organized by the Ministry of Culture of RA, Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre and Tsaghkadzor Municipality.

Besides Armenia, artists from Artsakh, Germany, Czech Republic, Bangladesh, France, Russia and South Africa are participating this year.

The Armenian participants are Yerevan State Pantomime Theatre, the theatre-studio “Us” for the deaf that works under the same theatre, students of the Pantomime department of State Institute of Theatre and Cinematography.

The financial supporter of the festival is Araratbank which is going to continue supporting Pantomime theatre in the future.

“Starting from this year the festival becomes annual. We used to organize it only once in two years before. Last year we established the Pantomime theatre in Artshakh the first workers of which will participate in the festival this year with an interesting project. It is a German-Artsakh project; one German and one Artsakh mime perform”, said Jirayr Dadasyan, the artistic director of Yerevan Pantomime Theatre.

According to statistics, not only the number of participants but also the number of the audience rose since 2008.

Kirk Kerkorian’s investment firm sells property and assets

Garo Vardanian
News.am, Armenia

Kirk Kerkorian’s investment firm sells property and assets
10:11, 21.07.2017

Late American-Armenian millionaire Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp investment firm has been slowly walking away from Las Vegas, as directed by his will.

In addition to recently selling down its stake in MGM Resorts, the company Kerkorian founded, Tracinda recently unloaded a condo unit at the luxurious

Mandarin Oriental. Purchased in 2010 for $3.6 million, the selling price was just $2 million, casino.org reported.

Tracinda Corp is named after Kerkorian’s two daughters, Tracy and Linda. The directive to dissolve Tracinda’s holdings in MGM and sell off other assets stems from Kerkorian’s decision to leave most of his estimated $4 billion fortune to charitable endeavors. 

The well-known Armenian-American businessman and philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian died at the age of 98 in 2015.

Film: Armenia Film Week in 3 Cities in Iran

Hovhannisian John
Financial Tribune, Iran



Armenia Movie Week is slated for July 23-29 in Tehran, Mashhad and Shiraz.

The program will cover 10 feature films from the contemporary cinema of the Republic of Armenia.

It is organized under the auspices of Armenian Embassy in Tehran and Art & Experience cinematic group, affiliated to the Iranian Organization of Cinema and Audiovisual Affairs.

Art & Experience cinematic group covers 18 cinemas across Iran and provides an opportunity for public screening of worthwhile movies chosen from non-commercial films, in order to demonstrate the brilliance of their creators.

According to the website of Art and Experience (aecinema.org), a lineup of movies by contemporary filmmakers from the Caucasus state will be screened during the film week at Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) in  Tehran; Hoveizeh Cineplex in Mashhad, center of Khorasan Razavi Province; and at Golestan Cineplex in Shiraz, capital of Fars Province.

The screening program is from 7-9 pm. Two prominent Armenian artists will attend the week-long event: director and producer Aram Shahbazyan, 46, a graduate of Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema; and actor and director Aren Vatyan, 40.

Shahbazyan has two films for Armenia Movie Week: ‘Moskvitch, My Love’ and ‘Map of Salvation.’

‘Moscvitch, My Love’ is about Soviet nostalgia. Having fled Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hamo and his wife Aroos live a meager existence in rural Armenia, surviving on the little money their son is able to send from Moscow.

It has long been Hamo’s dream to own a bright red Moskvitch, a car symbolizing Soviet technological prowess and modernity. Every morning in a dream-like ritual, Hamo polishes a toy Moskvitch he has cherished ever since leaving Azerbaijan. When local villager Sako puts his real Moskvitch on sale, Hamo seizes the opportunity.

Shahbazyan’s other movie, ‘Map of Salvation’ is a feature-length docudrama made to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, starting on April 24, 1915.

The film goes back to late 19th century and early 20th, telling about five European women who were witness to the Armenian Genocide and later helped found shelter for Armenian children and women.

From Aren Vatyan, the event will screen ‘The Clay Man.’ The short film is about a lonely elderly potter living in an abandoned village, who has reconciled with the inevitability of death before he realizes the truth: life ends only when one has nothing and nobody to live for.

Professor: Karabakh’s Gandzasar Monastery will mark 777th anniversary

Emil Lazarian
News.am, Armenia

Professor: Karabakh’s Gandzasar Monastery will mark 777th anniversary 

YEREVAN. – The upcoming Sunday will mark the 777th anniversary since the consecration of Gandzasar Monastery of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Director of the Institute of Literature, Professor Vardan Devrikyan told the aforementioned to journalists on Friday.

According to the professor, the Gadzasar Monastery was built in honor of Gregory the Illuminator.

“On the day of Vardavar, festivities are held in all the churches dedicated to Gregory the Illumiator,” Devrikyan said.

Director of the Institute told journalists that in the years of Karabakh War Vardavar was celebrated in Karabakh, particularly in Gandzasar.

“In 1990-1994, I celebrated all the Vardavar holidays in Nagorno-Karabakh. They reflected to the fullest the reality and the state of mind, which dominated there,” Devrikyan said. 

Sports: Armenian youth basketball team wins Azerbaijan

Torgomian Varazdat
Tert, Armenia

The Armenian youth basketball team gained advantage over Azerbaijan  in the European U-20 championship being held in Oradea, Romania.

After a tense and persistent struggle in the B Division competitions, the young Armenian sportsmen beat the rival 82-80.

The national team will fight for the 17th place in another meeting on July 23.

The team earlier won the fifth place in the A Subgroup competitions (B Division group round).

The Armenian basketball players have so far celebrated only one victory, taking advantage over Poland, the championship’s leader.

Sports: New Armenian Greco-Roman wrestlers to participate in Cadet European Championship

Tatoyan Vazgen
Mediamax, Armenia

9 athletes will represent Armenian cadet freestyle wrestling team. They will be the first to perform.

Greco-Roman wrestlers will start competition on July 28.

The head coach of the team Gagik Khachatryan told Mediamax Sport that the team would depart for the Championship on July 25.

“We have involved a number of new athletes in the team, mainly born in 2001. They will compete for the first time in such a major tournament. The boys from the last year have already joined the ranks of the youth team,” Khachatryan said.

The participants of the European Championship from Armenia are Garnik Hovhannisyan (42 kg), Robert Karapetyan (48 kg), Hayk Asatryan (50 kg), Samvel Aghajanyan (54 kg), Ashot Kirakosyan (58 kg), Shant Khachatryan (63 kg), Sargis Tadevosyan (69 kg), Vahe Poghosyan (76 kg) and Tigran Hambardzumyan (85 kg).