The Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography, a public cultural institution under the authority of the Cluj County Council, invites you to the “Armenian Court” Festival. Now in its 5th edition, the Festival - an event dedicated to the celebration of Armenian traditions, art and culture - will take place over two days, Friday, July 12 and Saturday, July 13, 2024, in the inner courtyard of the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography, 21 Memorandum street.
It will be a wonderful opportunity to discover the beauty and diversity of Armenian culture through a series of exciting activities and events: traditional music and dance performances, art and photography exhibitions, fairs with traditional Armenian products, interactive workshops for children and adults, gastronomic presentations and tasting of specific dishes.
This festival edition will bring together talented artists, craftsmen and performers, who will share with you the cultural treasures of Armenia and Armenians in Romania. We are waiting for you to enjoy this celebration of diversity and traditions together.
The festival starts on Friday, July 12, at 12:00 in the inner courtyard of the Transylvanian Museum of Ethnography, with the opening of the bazaar. You will find carpet workshop with Bedros, leather products with Lilit, glass paintings with Ermone, traditional costumes with Kalamar family, coffee and other trinkets with Ago family, Armenian calligraphy art with Tania, Armenian jewelry with Arsen, glass blowing craft with Zsolt, “jinghialov hat”, Artsakh flat-bread with lulia, book launches, tastings, traditional dances, raffle and many more...
The official opening of the festival will be at 5:00 p.m., on the courtyard stage. In the same place, at 05:30 you will meet the Hayakaghak traditional dances ensemble (Armenopolis/Gherla), artistic director: Ursan-Esztegar Erika. At 06:00 p.m., at the Cellarium Gallery in the basement, the exhibition of the painter Ermone Zabel Martaian “Armenian Biblical Images on Glass” will be opened. At 07:00 p.m. in the Reduta Palace (first floor) the Armenian Dance Ensemble “Nazani” (Lille, France) will perform, choreography: Armine Khachatryan-Altonian, director of the Nariné Mardoyan ensemble.
On Saturday, July 13, the program starts in the museum courtyard at 11:00 a.m.- with the opening of the bazaar. From 11:00 a.m., BOGO holds a guided tour of the Armenian locations in the center of Cluj (meeting in the museum courtyard at 10:30 a.m.). From 4:00 p.m., the MAZEL TOV klezmer music ensemble, the Jewish community in Cluj, ensemble conductor prof. Vasile Socea will perform on the courtyard stage, and at 5:00 p.m. begins the recital “From folk’s music” with Gyulai Csaba (percussion), Mazura János (drum) and Bartek Zsolt (clarinet, duduk), Budapest, Hungary, and from 06:00 p.m. the traditional dance ensemble URARTU (Greece) will take the stage. In the Reduta Palace (first floor) from 7:00 p.m. you will meet the Armenian dance ensemble “Nazani” (Lille, France), choreography Armine Khachatryan-Altounian, ensemble director Narine Mardoyan.
The closing of the festival will be at 08:00 p.m. in the museum courtyard.
