Ground broken on Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial

January 26, 2015 By administrator

Clerics offer a prayer during a groundbreaking ceremony for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial monument at Memorial Park in Pasadena on Sunday. The memorial is scheduled to be completed on April 18, just ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24. Staff photo by Brian Day

By Brian Day, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

PASADENA >> Pasadena’s Armenian Genocide Memorial took a major step on the road from concept to reality Sunday when officials gathered for a ground-breaking ceremony at the construction site at Memorial Park.

Designer and recent Art Center College of Design graduate Catherine Menard, Pasadena Armenian Genocide Committee board members, city officials, and representatives from area Armenian churches and schools took part in the ceremony.

“It’s been such a journey,” Menard said, adding that she was excited to see her design beginning to take shape. Menard unveiled her design in April 2013 after it was selected by the memorial committee over 16 other entries. Menard, who was a student at Art Center College of Design at the time, has since graduated with a degree in Environment Design.

The completed monument, which will take the form of a 16-foot-tall tripod surrounded by a 26-foot wide ring of stonework with water drops dripping into a basin to represent each of the 1.5 million lives cut short by the Ottoman Turks in the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923, Menard explained. The droplets, which will be illuminated, will fall every 21 seconds, so that 1.5 million drops will fall annually.

The tripod represents similarly-shaped structures which Armenian leaders were hanged from during the Armenian Genocide, Menard said.

Surrounding the tripod and stonework will be 12 pomegranate trees, representing each of the 12 “lost provinces” of Armenia.

Menard said she was grateful to all the people who have donated their time and efforts to bring the project this far.

“We have a team that’s unified, with so many people giving their time and so much love,” she said. “That’s what this project is about: love, forgiveness, truth.”

A dedication ceremony is planned at 3 p.m. April 18, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, Pasadena Armenian Genocide Committee Board Member Levon Filian said.

The project was unanimously approved by the Pasadena City Council in September of 2013.

Clerics, including Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America, prayed over the sight before officials symbolically shoveled dirt to mark the beginning of the monument’s construction.

“It’s phenomenal to see this,” said Art Center College of Design Professor James Meraz, who oversaw Menard’s project while she was a student at the school. “I’m so proud of her.”

PAGMC board members and former state Assemblyman Anthony Portantino of La Cañada Flintridge, who joined in the ceremony along with Pasadena city officials and other dignitaries, said he was pleased with the progress.

“The community deserves an outstanding memorial,” he said. “This is a special day.”

Pasadena Genocide Memorial Ground Consecrated

May 2, 2014 By administrator

PASADENA, Calif.—More than 700 people attended a ground blessing ceremony at the site for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial on Sunday, April 27, during a public ceremony at Memorial Park.

The presentation of colors was conducted by Homenetmen Azadamard Chapter. Retired U.S. District Court Judge Dickran M. Tevrizian served as Master of Ceremonies and consecration of the ground was performed by Hovnan Derderian, Archbishop of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

There were musical performances by choirs from the Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian School in Altadena and the Armenian General Benevolent Union High School in Pasadena.

Student speakers included Alex Berberian, a senior at Pasadena High School, and Daniel Mouradian, a freshman at AGBU High School.

Tagoui Arzoumanian recited the poem “Menk and the Dance” and Eric Chilingazyan, a young child, recited the poem “My Armenia.”

Federal, state and local elected officials as well as dignitaries from community organizations, churches and schools participated in the event as well.

The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, approved by the Pasadena City Council in September 2013, will be completed and dedicated at the north side of Memorial Park in April 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of 1.5 million Armenians over a three-year period beginning in 1915. It will commemorate the Armenian Genocide and condemn all crimes against humanity

For more information about the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial visit www.PASAGMC.org or PASAGMC on Facebook.

Armenian Genocide to be commemorated in Glendale, Pasadena, Los Angeles area

April 19, 2014 By administrator

Several local events commemorating the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide will be held in Glendale over the next several days, according to Glendale News-Press.

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.

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.

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.

California: Ground to Be Consecrated for Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial

April 17, 2014 By administrator

An artist’s rendering of the Armenian Genocide memorial to be constructed in Pasadena, California, in 2015.
PASADENA, Calif.—The ground at the site for the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial will be blessed Sunday, April 27, during a 6 p.m. public ceremony at Memorial Park.
Retired U.S. District Court Judge Dickran M. Tevrizian will serve as Master of Ceremonies and the consecration will be performed by Hovnan Derderian, Archbishop of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Choirs from the Sahag Mesrob Armenian Christian School in Altadena and the Armenian General Benevolent Union High School in Pasadena will sing.
“I encourage the greater Pasadena community to attend this important event,” said former California Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, who serves on the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Committee. “This Memorial will offer a place for reflection, hope and inspiration.”
Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and California Assemblyman Chris Holden will be among the elected officials at the event.
The Memorial, approved by the Pasadena City Council in September 2013, will be completed and dedicated at the north side of Memorial Park in April 2015 to mark the 100th anniversary of the killing of 1.5 million Armenians over a three-year period beginning in 1915. It will commemorate the Armenian Genocide and condemn all crimes against humanity

The 99th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide to Take Place at the Pasadena City Hall

April 14, 2014 By administrator

The 99th Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide will take place on Thursday April 24, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Pasadena City Hall.

The annual event is organized by the Armenian Community Coalition of Pasadena, in conjunction with the City of Pasadena, the Armenian organizations, churches and local private and public schools student, that will also be participating.

The program will start with the presentation of Colors by AGBU scouts followed by the rendition of the anthems of the United States and the Republic of Armenia. The boy scouts of the Armenian General Benevolent Union’s Pasadena-Glendale Chapter will stand guard.

Like every year, many local, state, and national elected officials and dignitaries will be in attendance and some will participate in the ceremonies.

The keynote speakers will be Dr. Hampig Sarafian, in English, and Very Rev. Fr. Andon Atamian, in Armenian. The Marshall Fundamental School Orchestra will be performing.

There will also be a cultural program, to duly mark this somber occasion. The public is invited to come and show its support.

The Armenian Community Coalition and the Armenian Community would be honored to share the experience of this event with the people of Pasadena and the Greater Pasadena Area. A time of remembrance of all the lives lost due to the atrocities of tyrant regimes and a call for recognition of such terrible sufferings of Armenians and all other nations who have suffered similar acts. The presence of the events’ special guests and friends, speaks loud to all future generations, since by attending, they are condemning all such acts and raising awareness to the well-being of all nations.

To join, R.S.V.P. to paccoalition@gmail.com and for more information visit http://acc-us.org/.

Source: http://www.pasadenanow.com