“Culture Without Borders” Regional Festival

On June 5, at the initiative of the “Yntaniq” Children and Youth Creative Center of Gyumri under the Ministry of Education and Science, the “Culture Without Borders” regional festival was held in Yerazgavors, a border community of Shirak Province.

The festival aimed to strengthen ties among the communities of Shirak Province, contribute to the revitalization of cultural life, highlight and introduce the distinctive characteristics, legends, customs, and symbolic objects representing the national heritage of each community.

The former Bagratuni capital welcomed schoolchildren from the Shirak communities of Ashotsk, Basen, Gokhovit, Yerazgavors, Torosgyugh, Jrarat, and Tsoghamarg, students of the “Yntaniq” Center, as well as the brass band of the Faculty of Culture of the Armenian State Pedagogical University named after Khachatur Abovyan and the drumming ensemble of the Armenian Youth Home of Malatia of the Armenian General Benevolent Union and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin.

The regional festival was attended by H. Simonyan, Governor of Shirak Province, A. Hovhannisyan, Press Secretary of the Minister of Defense, employees of the regional administration, community leaders, directors and teachers of educational and cultural institutions, ethnographers, and community residents.

Father Makар Galandaryan also offered his blessing at the festival. He described the organization of such a large-scale event as another opportunity to become acquainted with national culture, noting that a person strengthened through culture is powerful, while a nation strengthened through culture is invincible.

Each community presented distinctive cultural objects characteristic of its locality, as well as a variety of traditional foods and products inherited from their ancestors. The handmade works representing various branches of arts and crafts created by the students of the “Yntaniq” Center generated great interest among guests and local residents. Individual performances by the Center’s students and teenagers from the communities, accompanied by the sounds of traditional Armenian songs and music, truly transformed the day into a grand celebration.

The dance groups of the Center and the communities performed a unique rendition of the ethnographic “Papuri” dance, followed by a traditional unity circle dance and procession that brought the event to a memorable conclusion. The festival became an important catalyst for establishing cultural dialogue among the communities and a vivid expression of solidarity and unity.

At the end of the event, A. Minasyan, Director of the “Yntaniq” Center, presented certificates of merit, letters of appreciation, and prizes to the brass band, the drumming ensemble, and the participating community schools for their active involvement in the regional festival.

H. Simonyan, Governor of Shirak Province, expressed his gratitude to the organizers for the initiative.

“We have always been concerned that everything is concentrated in the capital. Today is a very pleasant and important day for me because cultural events are being decentralized and brought to the communities. This is a very important initiative, and I welcome this idea,” said the Governor of Shirak Province.

H. Sargsyan