Smithsonian Folklife Festival to focus on 'Armenia’s exuberant hospitality'February 1, 2018 - 12:32 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The 2018 Smithsonian Folklife Festival will highlight cultural heritage of Armenia, Catalonia and Africa through fashion, feasts, and other festivities. The international exhibition is inviting everyone to experience human towers with the Catalans, Armenian craft and cooking demonstrations, traditional-meets-contemporary styles from around the African continent, and much more. “The exuberant hospitality of Armenian cooking, eating, and drinking is a source of cultural pride. Armenia: Creating Home conveys how its deep history, a tradition of feasting, and innovations in technique energize Armenia’s food scene and engage outsiders,” the Magazine says on its website. “During the Festival, Armenian cooks will teach you how to make the staples of a feast: cooking lavash flatbread in tonir (wood-fired oven),making cheese, and grilling khorovats (skewered meats). The feasting will continue into the evening with concerts on the National Mall featuring Armenian folk and jazz music. While tasting and toasting Armenian wines, you will meet winemakers who are reinvigorating the industry through their production, from cultivating ancient varietals and aging wine in karas (large clay urns) to a winery incubator model encouraging the growth of small labels.” Cooks and winemakers will share their experiences with traditional recipes and the ways in which food- and wine-related enterprises have shaped their cultural identity and created a pathway for exchange—both within Armenia’s boundaries and across diaspora communities. Continuing the Festival’s ongoing exploration of creativity, change, and resilience, a participatory program highlighting the revitalization of Armenian craft will showcase the intersection of technology and handmade traditions. Visual artists and artisans will work together to build interactive installations juxtaposing tradition and innovation. Visitors will engage with Armenian designers and artisans; learning, observing, and trying their hand at weaving, embroidery, and carving. Discussion sessions will explore the function of craft, not only its utilitarian and economic value, but as a continually evolving cultural expression—a way to make meaning. The 2018 Festival, which runs from June 27 to July 1 and July 4 to 8 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., will feature hundreds of artisans, designers, musicians, and cooks from around the world. Top stories David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Partner news | Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. Aliyev says no need for mediators in Armenia-Azerbaijan process Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev believes that Baku and Yerevan do not mediators in the process of normalizing relations. |