“Yarkhushta is one of the most significant dances of our national identity” – Armenia due to host Jarkhushta festival on June 13

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a consultation on February 19 to discuss preparations for the upcoming Jarkhushta festival in Armenia. The Premier was first briefed on the ongoing activities. He was told that the festival will be held in Dashtadem community of Talin region (Aragatsotn Marz) on the second Saturday in June.

The festival will feature a Jarkhushta contest; there will be a competition dance floor, pavilions representing Armenian art and crafts, photo and tourism information booths, a museum-exhibition hall; master classes on Armenian dance and history will be organized.

A community zone will be set up in Aragatsotn Marz where the locals may present their own traditions, culture and cuisine. The Areni Festival Foundation shall be responsible for organizational matters. Several organizational issues were discussed during the exchange of views that followed.

Summing up the discussion, the Prime Minister said: “We decided that a new festival will be introduced in Armenia on June 13, 2020, with the official name of the festival being “Jark Fest” and the unofficial name - Jarkhushta Festival. We attach great importance to the propaganda and dissemination of Armenian traditions and cultural values; we need to clearly understand our true identity and our values. In this respect, I believe that Armenian dance is really one of the things that we can confidently place under the heading of national value. I think that Jarkhushta is one of those traditional dances that can best describe our ethnic identity and contains a great deal of energy which reveals our deeds and spirit.

In this regard, I believe that the work we have done in recent months should result in a major annual event. Moreover, Talin region, which is known as the Sasun region, is not accidentally chosen and we know that Jarkhushta is particularly well received by the Sasun people.

According to the concept discussed earlier, we will also have an annual competition program. I believe that as a result of this competition program we will have first, second and third prize winners. Besides, it will be a good venue, a good environment for our compatriots, foreign tourists to spend their days there. The festival will be held on the site of the Dashtadem Fortress.

I am convinced that we will indeed have a very significant event that will also express our political strategy to be particularly zealous in our national identity and not only to preserve and restore the lost components of our identity, but also to develop it, so that they might become an integral part of our daily life. Therefore, I wish good luck to all of us, and we can confidently invite all our compatriots and foreign tourists to Dashtadem village in Aragatsotn Marz on the second Saturday of June and of course invite all dancers to show their skills and become a winner in a fair competition.”

Reiterating the festival’s importance, the Premier instructed those responsible to develop infrastructure necessary for its proper organization.