Photo Credit: Donald Rask
Thanks to Milwaukee’s abundance of diverse ethnic festivals, we can try authentic cuisines of the world without having to leave Milwaukee County. Armenian Fest—which takes place on Sunday, July 18, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., on the grounds of St. John the Baptist Armenian Orthodox Church (7825 W. Layton Ave.)—features scratch-made Armenian food crafted from family recipes.
Armenia is among the world’s longest surviving civilizations with a 3,000-year history in the Near East extending well beyond the boundary of the present-day Armenian Republic bordered by Iran and Georgia. The first Armenians arrived in the Milwaukee area during the 1890s seeking work in the city’s factories, including Bucyrus Erie and the former Allis Chalmers. In recent years, Armenians have arrived in Milwaukee from Lebanon, Iraq, Russia and Turkmenistan. Since the 1930s, the local Armenian community gathered for annual summer picnics with traditional Mediterranean dishes made from old family recipes; this eventually grew into Armenian Fest.
Armenian cuisine is similar in some respects to the cooking of Greece and other Eastern Mediterranean nations, but Armenians put their own unique stamp on it. Armenian bouregs (multiple layers of phyllo dough around mild brick cheese) are different than the bouregs the Greeks or Serbians make.
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A favorite with festival attendees is the shish-kebab dinner with marinated beef or chicken served over rice pilaf with salad and pita bread. Sarma, another favorite, consists of grape leaves stuffed with a lemony filling of rice, tomato paste and seasonings. Volunteers hand-pick the grape leaves, which are in season during late June and early July.
Lahmajoun, “Armenian pizza,” is dough topped with ground beef, onion, green pepper, parsley and tomato and then baked. Desserts include pastries such as baklava. Beverages available include coffee, soda and Armenian as well as domestic beer.
Armenian Fest features traditional Armenian music by Chicago’s Hye Vibes, a performance by the Hamazkayin Sardarabad Dance Ensemble of Chicago, church tours and a cultural booth with items available for purchase.
Admission to the festival and parking is free. For more information, visit stjohnarmenianchurch.org.
