Our gardens will be spilling into the pathways and we’ll be getting ready to pull the onions and garlic because it will be time to marinate the shish kebab! Cooking and sharing food is a way to sharpen our senses, to connect us with the land and the bounty it produces. When you think about it, cooking and baking celebrate the magic of fire and water…touchstones in our lives.
Musicians, dancers, cooks and special makers are coming together for a day that we're fondly calling "Mid-Coast Maine meets the Middle East". Everyone is welcome and the festivities will start and 11:00 and finish by 4:00 in time to catch the sunset over the Bay. Tickets will be available for advance meal purchase at least 3 weeks before the picnic. (every year we sell out quickly for the kebab dinner)
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This Year's Program will benefit the Berdavan Village Pottery Project. Our last donation of $1000 supplied the children with clay, glaze and a teacher for an entire year...help us have a bigger impact this year!
Online ticket sales are now available! Last year dinners sold out quickly, so we recommend pre-ordering if you can. On site food purchases will be available, but keep in mind, everything is prepared fresh and to order... until we run out!
Featuring the Maine Kef Ensemble, Kotwica and Folk Dance Lessons by Carolyn Rapkevian
Maine Kef Ensemble
Maine Kef Ensemble plays folk music from the Armenian, Anatolian, Greek and Arabic traditions. Led by a student of the late Udi Alan Shavarsh Bardezbanian, oud player, Eric LaPerna, the group also features clarinetist, Steve Gruverman, guitarist, Jeremey Zela, upright bass player, Duane Edwards, and Dorothy Barker on the darbouka. “
In case you were wondering...Kef means "party or fun" music
Kotwica
Kotwica (Koht-veets-ah) meaning "anchor", a cultural symbol of freedom, plays folk music from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
Directed by David Rapkievian of Bar Harbor, it features musicians on fiddle, button accordion, balalaika, guitar, and string bass.
Vocalists providing beautiful harmonies in the group are led by Anne Tatgenhorst. The group's repertoire includes songs and dance music from Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Macedonia, and beyond.
Carolyn Okoomian Rapkievian, Dance Leader
Carolyn Okoomian Rapkievian has been researching, teaching, and performing dance in a professional capacity for more than 40 years. Her experience and training have included classical and character ballet, social ballroom dance, international folkdances, specializing in Armenian dance. Carolyn grew up dancing at Armenian family and social events. She studied Armenian dance with the Antranig Armenian Dance Ensemble’s artistic director Gagik Karapetian who also directed the Armenian State Dance Ensemble of Yerevan, Armenia. Most recently she is coordinating a team of Armenian dance experts to record and archive traditional Armenian dances from Historic Armenia with the Houshamanyan project https://www.houshamadyan.org/themes/dance.html
