Oceanside CA— A free Oceanside Public Library event featuring Armenian music, dance, and food, as well as local author presentations, will take place on Saturday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. in the Civic Center Library Community Rooms and Courtyard located at 330 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside 92054. The Knights and Daughters of Vartan, an Armenian service organization, will lead the celebration of Armenian culture with the Library in honor of this year’s One Book, One San Diego selection, The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian, a novel featuring Armenian history and experience. Traditional dance will be performed by students of the Militonyan Dance School.
Main speaker Lisa Kirazian is a writer of plays, screenplays, articles; and “The Music We Made” novel series, starting with Bravura. Her scripts have been produced and published nationwide and she directs for stage and screen. Her play “On Air” was produced at Scripps Ranch Theatre last year, and her play “Soul Fire” will be produced in June 2018 by Playwrights Project. Her articles have also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, The Dramatist, Performing Arts magazine, Student Leadership magazine, and the San Diego Union Tribune and she has been interviewed on KPBS radio.
Cookbook author Dikranouhi (Hovsepian) Kirazian was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, and came to the United States in 1959, where she taught Armenian language classes. She has always enjoyed creative cooking, but has also maintained a deep respect for the traditional meals of the Armenian people, which were taught to her by her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Her book, Armenian Vegan, is a unique collection of favorite and new Armenian vegan meals, and fond memories; with a heartfelt respect for all Armenians, a beautiful and resilient people.
This event is a part of the One Book, One San Diego community reading program and is presented in partnership by KPBS and the Oceanside Public Library. One Book, One San Diego is made possible by the Linden Root Dickinson Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Dr. Seuss Fund and the Rivkin Family I Fund at the San Diego Foundation, SDG&E, Lloyd Pest Control, the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, Kaiser Permanente, the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation and Geico. All Oceanside Library programming is supported by the Friends of the Oceanside Public Library. Please call (760) 435-5600 or visit the website at www.oceansidepubliclibrary.org for more information about the library and programs.