Smithsonian Folklife Festival: Armenia (from July 5)

Across the grassy middle of The Mall is the other featured nation: Armenia.  I remember a couple of years ago when the featured nation was Azerbaijan--Armenia's sworn enemy.  And I recalled how delightful it was to learn about all the beautiful things from that country.  Now many more beautiful things were laid out in front of me.  I thought, 'What is there of man's conceptualization that keeps one people from living in peace with another?  What keeps them from sharing the beauty they cherish without fear of the beauty the other brings to share?  I know that in this case is it religion.  Pathetic reason to hate one another.  But let us not dwell on my tangent--there is much beauty to discover!
 

Placards like this one show visitors were Armenia is located and provide texts in Armenian on one side and English on the other.

 This gentlemen share about the art and craft of iron working, while his colleague demonstrates nearby.

 You can see that it's the same man featured in the banner behind him.

 A little bit away these three young sisters performed traditional songs on elaborate instruments similar to Appalachian dulcimers.  They were amazing.

 The art of calligraphy was featured here with examples and a demonstration by this master calligrapher.

 This section was a large tent with interactive presentations on aspects of Armenian design motifs.  The table above is a work being created from different colors of plastic bottle tops.

 A family of stone carvers were all busily chipping and gouging away at slabs of volcanic rock, sandstone and limestone to create these beautiful carvings, many used as architectural elements in homes and churches.

 Woodworking Shop

 Armenian Potters' demonstrations

 A demonstration that became interactive for this young festival goer.

 A display called the "Tree of Life" outside of the Lacemakers' booth.

 Rug weavers one booth beyond.  This woman is spinning the yarn.

 The last stop before lunch was a demonstration of an Armenian dish that was a lot like focaccia bread with tomatoes and herbs baked on the surface.  At one point the interpreter likened it to Armenia's version of pizza.  After this it was time to have lunch myself!  Unfortunately there is never any sampling from this tent--health inspector kill-joys...

If you ever find yourself in Washington, DC around the 4th of July, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival is really a must do experience.