Sharing their diversity

St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church in Costa Mesa is extending an invitation to all its neighbors.

It’s a simple gesture from the local Armenian community, whose members are looking to share their culture’s food and traditions.

On Sunday, the church will host its first Armenian food festival.

The event will feature traditional dancing and a smorgasbord of homemade Armenian cooking: stuffed grape leaves, rice pilaf, lamb and chicken kebab, humus, Armenian pastries and imported Armenian ice cream. Beer will be served, too.

“We have two goals,” said Father Moushegh Tashjian, the church’s archpriest reverend. “The first is to share our culture and traditions, like our Armenian folk dance, and to invite our neighbors to visit and learn about the Armenian culture. And why not taste some of our delicious food?

“The second is to visit one of the oldest churches in history and see what it’s like.”

The church hopes to make the festival an annual event, he said.

The women decided to bypass canned food and opted to make it from scratch.

“Making it from scratch is part of our culture,” Sylva Tashjian said as she rolled grape leaves and organized them side-by-side in a big pan.

“We have learned to cook from our own mothers and grandmothers. But the most important part is that homemade food is much healthier and the flavor is authentic.

Inviting neighbors to the church is not new.

In fact, when the church building was consecrated 17 years ago, a food festival was held then to celebrate the occasion.

Claudette Mekalian, a church member and one of the women preparing the food, said she hopes that festival goers will learn of what the Armenians have contributed to the American culture, from traditions to education.

“This is why this country became so rich,” Tashjian said. “America is so great because of its diversity.”

If You Go

What: Armenian Food Festival

When: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Where: St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church, 148 E. 22nd St., Costa Mesa

Cost: Lamb dishes will cost $15 each and chicken will cost $14.

Famous Armenian dishes:

Dolma is one of the most famous Armenian dishes. It consists of marinated rice and meat stuffed in zucchini and eggplants. There’s also the rice pilaf, which is cooked with almonds, raisins and pistachios.