Armenian "Madagh" Picnic

On Sunday, June 30, St. Hagop Armenian Apostolic Church will hold their annual Armenian ("Madagh") Picnic at Johnson Park, 6200 Northwestern

Avenue, Racine. St. Hagop's has held their traditional picnic or "Madagh" since 1938. The work "Madagh" means offering and goes back to the time of Abraham who was willing to offer his only son, Isaac, to god to prove his love, faith and obedience to the Lord. When God witnessed this testimony, He asked Abraham to spare his son and offer a ram instead. Today, St. Hagop's Madagh is an expression of that same love, faith and gratitude to the Lord for all that He has bestowed on us. Armenians throughout the world have designated places of pilgrimage where they go to worship and offer a meal of Madagh to the community. The blessing of St. Hagop's Madagh will be at 11:15am, officiated by Reverend Father Daron Stepanian, Pastor of St. Hagop Armenian Church, and served at 12 noon. From 10:30am - 7:00pm, the public is invited to attend the picnic featuring marinated shish kebab and chicken dinners, sarma (stuffed grape leaves), penerlee (cheese puffs), khurabia (butter cookies), and other Armenian delicacies and pastries. From 2-6pm live Armenian music is performed by the Mid East Beat and and from 1-5pm face painting and balloon sculpting provided by Cuddles and Billy Boy the clowns. In addition, the Chicago Hamazkayine Sardarabad Dance Ensemble will perform traditional Armenian dances during the band breaks. Tickets are also available for a cash raffle, with the raffle drawing at 6pm. There is no admission charge to this event.