Assyrian Festival expands with regional help, historic focus, same great food

Assyrians from across Northern California will gather at the Turlock fairground Aug. 29-30 for a celebration of their food and culture, as well as an in-depth look at a sometimes tragic heritage.

The 2015 Assyrian Festival consolidates the annual festivals of four Central Valley and Bay Area parishes. This year’s collaborative event will include a serious side as well as a festive one, with a centennial commemoration of the Assyrian genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks and information about the ongoing genocide of Middle Eastern Christians at the hands of Islamic State militants.

The event and exhibits are free, and a portion of the money from sales of Assyrian food, handicrafts and merchandise will go to help needy and displaced Assyrian Christians, said Bishop Mar Awa Royel of the Assyrian Church of the East Diocese of California.

Turlock, Ceres, Modesto and San Francisco parishes will come together for this year’s festival, a chance to build community as well as celebrate traditions, the bishop said. “The idea was to get them together, and the centennial seemed a good year to start,” he said.

And Turlock is a good place to come. The city is home to the largest community of Assyrians in California, Royel said, about 15,000 to 17,000 people, or more than 1 in 5 Turlock residents.

“It’s like the hub spot for the Assyrian community,” said Adrenna Alkhas, publicity chairwoman for the event. It was the local weather and soil, so close to the agricultural setting they left, she said, that drew Assyrians to Turlock.

The first recorded Assyrian migration came to Turlock in 1895, establishing the first Church of the East parish on the West Coast. The Mar Addai Parish church on Canal Drive was built by parish members in 1947. The diocese seat is now in Modesto, which briefly served as home for the religion’s patriarch in the 1950s, Royel noted.

The religious and ethnic heritage of Assyrians goes back much further, of course. This is year 6765 on their calendar, though even Assyrians rarely use it, he added.

They trace their beginnings to Mesopotamia, with Assyrians spreading throughout what was then the Ottoman Empire when the genocide began at the hands of the Ottoman Turks.

“It began in 1914, but the greatest atrocities were in 1915. We call it the Year of the Sword,” Royel said. An estimated 750,000 Assyrians died. “Two-thirds of our population was lost,” Royel said. “Total villages were wiped out. In other places, some family members were killed and others survived.”

Other waves of Assyrians emigrated to California after the Islamic coup in Iran in 1979 and more recently fleeing sectarian violence in Iraq. An estimated Christian population of less than 300,000 remains in Iraq out of a 2003 count of 1.5 million, Royel said. Ancient churches in Mosul have been destroyed, and 220 Assyrians and other Christians are being held hostage by Islamic State.

That is the thumbnail sketch of what, at the festival, will include a 15-minute documentary and guided tours of historical exhibits giving the rich history of the Assyrian people and of the Church of the East.

The festivities run 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. both days. A grand opening with dignitaries and a showcase of children dancing in traditional garb will happen at noon Aug. 29.

The festival’s lighter side will be all around, with an extensive kids play area and the scent of dozens of ethnic main dishes and desserts filling the air. Vendors will have handicrafts and Assyrian merchandise. Church auxiliaries will be selling preserved specialties and treats.

Three cooks were taste-testing a vegan version of dolma Tuesday at the Modesto parish.

Amira Elias, Marina Benjamin and Ludia Malko were rolling grape leaves filled with a rice, herbs and vegetable mixture before cooking it in a tomato and lemon sauce. Benjamin’s latest recipe would be tweaked or transformed, depending on what her co-cooks thought of it, before a final version would be made for festivalgoers.

A traditional meat version will also be sold, she said, one of many family recipes, handed down through generations, being made for the event. Each parish is tasked with bringing different types of dishes.

“We’re all working as a family together, and that’s what’s good about it,” she said as her fingers laid out fresh grape leaves for the other two to stuff.

“Dolma takes so much time to make, and it takes just a second to swallow,” she said with a laugh.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Assyrian Festival expands with regional help, historic focus, same great food."