Armenian Genocide remembered
Several local events commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be held in Glendale over the next several days.
The genocide resulted in the murder of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turks from 1915 to 1918.
The main event of the week will be the city-sponsored Armenian Genocide commemorative event at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
The event will feature traditional Armenian dances and musical performances by local students and keynote speaker Maurice Missack Kelechian, who is a Silicon Valley engineer whose scientific research led to the unveiling of an Armenian orphanage in Antoura near Beirut-Lebanon which dated back to the time of the genocide.
Operated by Ahmad Jemal Pasha, the orphanage housed 1,000 Armenian orphans and served as a “Turkification” center.
Free tickets, with a limit of four per person, are available online at https://www.alextheatre.org, the concierge desk at the Americana at Brand, the Alex Theatre and Glendale Community College.
The commemorative week will kick off with two events.
On Monday, the Armenian clubs from Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley and Clark Magnet high schools will hold their 13th annual Armenian Genocide remembrance assembly at 7 p.m. in Glendale High’s newly named John Wayne Auditorium, located at 1440 Broadway. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
Students from each school will contribute to part of the assembly, ranging from instrumental musical compositions, poetry readings and video clips.
Also on Monday, the city of Glendale will host a night of poetry focused on inhumane events of the present and past at 6 p.m. in Parcher Plaza at City Hall, 613 East Broadway.
Unified Young Armenians will host a candlelight vigil in remembrance of the genocide at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the corner of Verdugo Road and Mountain Street.
For more information, visit https://www.youngarmenians.com.
In Pasadena, the Armenian Community Coalition will host a commemoration event at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Pasadena City Hall, 100 N. Garfield Ave.
The event will feature several speakers including Very Rev. Father Andon Atamian and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park.
Unified Young Armenians’ annual mass demonstration in Little Armenia will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at Hollywood Boulevard and Hobart Street.
The Armenian Youth Federation plans its annual protest in front of the Turkish Consulate, 6300 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday.
The city of Glendale is set to host other events related to its “Man’s Inhumanity to Man” campaign that take place around the Armenian Commemorative event as well. They include:
- The Commission on the Status of Women and Glendale YWCA are set to co-host a discussion titled “Human Trafficking, Modern Day Slavery” at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Central Library Auditorium, 222 E. Harvard St.
- The Glendale YWCA is set to host a conversation on domestic abuse at 6 p.m. Friday at its facility at 735 E. Lexington Drive.
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