Hamazkayin Society to present its first pan-assembly

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Eastern USA Region of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society, in close collaboration with its Philadelphia chapter, will present its first pan-assembly (or Hamakhmboom) after a long hiatus.

Hamazkayin Eastern USA is incorporating its annual regional meeting with the Hamakhmboom pan-assembly to bring members of the Hamazkayin family together for an annual gathering, while merging the organizational and flagship cultural activities of the region over a weekend.

The cultural component of the weekend will start with the screening of Eric Nazarian’s “The Blue Hour,” featuring Alyssa Milano, Clarence Williams III, and Derrick O’Connor. The film is Nazarian’s first feature film as writer-director. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Cinema-Television. In his senior year he wrote “Land of Plenty,” a post-war screenplay about child war survivors based on his experiences as a photojournalist in the southern Caucuses, which won the AFFMA Screenplay Award. He is currently working on a law enforcement saga and an international drama about globalization.

Following the screening, the evening gathering will start at 6:30 p.m. The Keynote Address, entitled “Armenia at the Library of Congress,” will be presented by Dr. Levon Avdoyan, the Armenian and Georgian area specialist at the Library of Congress.

Brief dance and literary pieces will be presented by Philadelphia area groups. Michael Bobelian will present his recent book Children of Armenia: A Forgotten Genocide and the Century-Long Struggle for Justice (Simon & Schuster, 2009). Bobelian is a journalist, lawyer, and author whose work has covered issues ranging from corporate wrongdoing to foreign affairs.

Hamazkayin Eastern USA will present its inaugural membership awards, the Hamazkayin Young Leader Award and the Hamazkayin Leadership Excellence Award, to two of its members. The organization will also introduce a new North American Armenian Literary Award in honor of a giant figure in Diasporan Armenian literature.

The evening will come to an end with a performance by the Zulal Armenian A Cappella Folk Trio, The Armenian Weekly reported.