The Cleveland Armenian Festival returns to Richmond Heights this weekend, filling the grounds of St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Apostolic Church with chicken and lamb kabobs, folk dancing and a boutique of goods made in Armenia. The festival runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, September 11, and from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday, September 12, at 678 Richmond Road, with free admission and free parking both days.
According to Cleveland.com, the menu spans lamb, chicken and vegan combo plates, stuffed grape leaves, lahmajoun, and vegetarian and vegan dishes, with desserts including pakhlava, gatah and simit. The festival is also bringing back its boutique, which sells made-in-Armenia products, souvenirs and gifts. Alongside the food, organizers have lined up live traditional Armenian folk music and dancing, a cultural display, church tours, outdoor games, arts and crafts and face painting, per the same report.
The Narekatsi Dance Group is scheduled to perform at the festival, the outlet reports. The event also features traditional Armenian folk music and dancing.
A Parish Rooted in Ohio Armenian History
St. Gregory of Narek Armenian Apostolic Church, which hosts the festival, holds a distinct place in Ohio history. The parish, which first organized in 1911 and 1912 without a permanent sanctuary, purchased the seven-acre Richmond Road property in April 1958 for $37,500, according to Case Western Reserve University. Catholicos-Patriarch of All Armenians Vazgen I visited Cleveland in June 1960 to personally bless the land, and the sanctuary itself was consecrated on April 12, 1964, following a 1962 groundbreaking.
The church takes its name from Saint Gregory of Narek, a 10th-century monk, mystic and poet best known for his spiritual masterwork The Book of Lamentations. Pope Francis declared him a Doctor of the Universal Church in April 2015, an honor detailed by The Armenian Weekly. A granite monument dedicated to the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, erected on the church grounds on April 24, 1966, stands as a permanent reminder of that history, per the Ohio Holocaust & Genocide Memorial & Education Commission.
One Parish, One Community Across Ohio
St. Gregory of Narek became the focal point of the Cleveland Armenian community in 2015, after Cleveland's Holy Cross Armenian congregation sold its building and its parishioners gradually integrated into the Richmond Heights parish. Rev. Fr. Hratch Sargsyan, who came to the parish from Armenia, has led the congregation since 2011, ministering to roughly 200 to 250 local families in Greater Cleveland, according to The Armenian Mirror-Spectator.
Greater Cleveland's Armenian population has grown in recent decades, with post-Soviet immigration adding new families to a community whose Cleveland roots stretch back more than a century.
Cultural Landmarks Beyond the Church Grounds
The Armenian Cultural Garden was dedicated in Cleveland's Rockefeller Park in 2010, according to the Cleveland Cultural Gardens Federation.
The Armenian Cultural Garden is another Cleveland landmark. The Cleveland Armenian Festival is a Richmond Heights event featuring Armenian food, music and heritage.
This weekend's festival offers visitors a hands-on introduction to Armenian food, music and craft without an entry fee. Organizers have again lined up church tours alongside the food and performances, giving newcomers a chance to see the sanctuary that has anchored Ohio's Armenian community for more than six decades.
