Wow, this month flew by. I guess it's time to update on April 24 events. Well, I listed the events that took place, all went well with good attendance. The one that stands out these days is the Armenian Genocide Observance on Capitol Hill. This year there were 40 Members of Congress in attendance and the room was packed with Armenians from all over the country. Throughout the day, people showed up from New Jersey, Rhode Island, California, Texas, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida, New York, etc. to meet with the Congressman urging support on the genocide resolutions (senate and house).
Canadian Parliamentarian Madeleine Dalfond-Guiral, whom we have to thank for Canada passing the Genocide resolution, passed through the office, met with Members of Congress, and was awarded at the Observance. Peter Balakian also received the freedom award this year and gave a touching speech.
I've been on the organizing end of this event for the last two years and the pace at which this event grows and improves is impressive. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to any of the speeches until the days after on video tape.
Many complain that these events each year become repetative and serve no purpose. Though I disagree, here is an event which serves a purpose and makes a huge impression. I constantly hear how Armenians have a great reputation in Washington. It's the presence of Armenians from all over the country that make that impression and that matters more than you can imagine.
Other news, I am off to LA in a few days. Though my initial reason was to attend the Armenian Music Awards, it seems that might not be possible as it's a bit of a closed event. I would have been fine with this except that I just found out that I am nominated again for Best Album Cover & Design. I think it's great that we have this show to expose Armenian Music to the rest of the world, but I'm a little disappointed at how the nominations and awards are handled. This year it seems like they are bringing many big names like Andre Agassi, Michael Moore, Gwen Stefani, Serj Tankian, and Kirk Krikorian, but why would nominees be kept out of the show?
Canadian Parliamentarian Madeleine Dalfond-Guiral, whom we have to thank for Canada passing the Genocide resolution, passed through the office, met with Members of Congress, and was awarded at the Observance. Peter Balakian also received the freedom award this year and gave a touching speech.
I've been on the organizing end of this event for the last two years and the pace at which this event grows and improves is impressive. Unfortunately, I couldn't listen to any of the speeches until the days after on video tape.
Many complain that these events each year become repetative and serve no purpose. Though I disagree, here is an event which serves a purpose and makes a huge impression. I constantly hear how Armenians have a great reputation in Washington. It's the presence of Armenians from all over the country that make that impression and that matters more than you can imagine.
Other news, I am off to LA in a few days. Though my initial reason was to attend the Armenian Music Awards, it seems that might not be possible as it's a bit of a closed event. I would have been fine with this except that I just found out that I am nominated again for Best Album Cover & Design. I think it's great that we have this show to expose Armenian Music to the rest of the world, but I'm a little disappointed at how the nominations and awards are handled. This year it seems like they are bringing many big names like Andre Agassi, Michael Moore, Gwen Stefani, Serj Tankian, and Kirk Krikorian, but why would nominees be kept out of the show?
posted by Arsineh at 11:24 PM
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