Armenian Mirror Spectator reports that St. James Armenian Church hosted its 65th annual bazaar in Keljik hall on October 12 and 13. As in previous years, the bazaar featured a silent auction, various raffles, a farmer’s market, an attic treasures table and various vendors, including Alex and Ani jewelry. The menu featured the traditional Armenian dishes, shish kebab, chicken kebab, losh kebab, kheyma and eetch, boereg, yalanchi, porov kufteh and the perennial best-seller, manti.
Co-chairs of the bazaar committee, Sandy Raphalian and Nancy Kassabian, began planning this year’s bazaar just weeks after the 2011 one had been completed. “It’s a wonderful venue to bring everyone together as one church family,” Kassabian shared.
In order to bake and freeze the vast quantities of baked goods, such as cheese and spinach boereg, choereg, tahini bread, nazook, simit, apricot and apple squares, bourma, and the ever-popular, paklava, the Women’s Guild began preparing in July, drawing up a baking schedule that intensified as the event drew closer.
Kassabian noted the importance of youth involvement in the bazaar, along with “the dedicated older generation coming in to teach the younger generation important traditions.”
