First Armenian Presbyterian Church, Fresno, California
About This Festival
The 119th annual autumn food bazaar at California’s oldest Armenian Church will take place on National Forget-Me-Not Day, with proceeds benefiting relief efforts in the Republic of Syria.
The First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno will hold its 2016 Merchants’ Lunch and Country Store from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 10. Falling on the eve of the 90th Veterans Day, National Forget-Me-Not Day is a time-honored occasion for remembering friends and family in the Season of Harvest. The Forget-Me-Not flowering plant is a symbol of the global Armenian Community and was the emblem of the Armenian Genocide Centenary Commemoration in 2015.
The Merchants’ Lunch will take place at the Church Campus, 430 South First Street at Historic Huntington Boulevard, near Downtown Fresno. The event will feature lunch at $15 per person, with seasoned beef filet kebab or chicken kebab, rice pilaf, cheese boureg, garden salad, pickled tourshee, fresh peda bread, paklava, and complimentary beverage among the offerings.
Meals will be available to guests for dine-in, take-out, or drive through. The drive-through lane will be located on the Raisina Street side of the Church Campus, one block west of First Street between Huntington Boulevard and Balch Avenue. More information is available by calling (559) 237-6638, faxing (559) 237-9526, or e-mailing administration@fapc.net.
The Merchants’ Lunch Country Store will be open throughout the luncheon hours for holiday shopping. The Store will offer such ethnic delicacies as choreg, souberag,
paklava, yalanchi, bottled grape leaves, gutah, tourshee, rojik, and basdegh. The abundant produce of the San Joaquin Valley and a host of homemade breads will round out the comestibles in the Store pantry.
The Central California literary team of author Janice Stevens and watercolorist Pat Hunter will be present to autograph copies of their newly-published book, “Breaking Bread with William Saroyan.” The duo are partners in the Gallery II arts venue in northwest Fresno and have collaborated on a sextet of local historical works. Their new volume is a compilation of authentic Armenian recipes, reminiscences of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who grew up at FAPC, as well as 40 original watercolors depicting the agricultural bounty and locales of the San Joaquin Valley.
Some of the recipes are drawn from “A Hundred Years and Still Cooking,” the FAPC Fidelis Women’s Society Centennial recipe collection. The 496
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