LOS ANGELES—The Homenetmen Western U.S.A. on Tuesday announced seven major events scheduled to take place in California, to celebrate the organization’s centennial and the over 800,000 youth its elevated since its inception through scouting, athletics, and leadership training.
“Homenetmen for the last 100 years has served the youth of our nation, starting with Armenian Genocide survivors. Today in the Western United States we are proud to serve our youth in 19 communities and create a space for thousands more to volunteer, while connecting with their heritage and culture,” stated Homenetmen Western Region Board Chair, Manuel Marselian. “As we forge ahead, we look forward to celebrating all that we’ve collectively accomplished and elevating future generations by providing them the pipeline of support to become engaged and responsible citizens,” he added.
The official centennial anniversary events will be kicked-off on Saturday, June 23, 2018 with a Youth Forum at Woodbury University. The one day conference will bring together experts from various fields, political officials, community leaders and hundreds of youth for an informative and inspirational series of panels to explore issues related to the future of youth, Homenetmen, the Armenian Cause and community, while developing and promoting new avenues of engagement.
The forum will be followed by an innovative art exhibition and installation reflecting Homenetmen’s history and its role in building community. Taking place at Glendale’s Downtown Central Library’s ReflectSpace and PassageWay galleries as well as multiple locations within the library, the exhibition/installation will be open to the public on September 16th.
On the same day as the opening of the exhibition, September 16th, the organization will also hold an all day Street Festival with music and performances at Central Park, in the heart of Glendale.
Centennial activities will conclude with the official Centennial Celebration Programs scheduled for October 5th in Northern California andOctober 28th in Southern California at Glendale High School.
As part of its annual tradition, the organization will also hold the 43rd Navasartian Games and Festival from July 3-7, 2018 along with the Victory Ball on July 1st.
Details on each event and additional events in Northern California are forthcoming.
The announcement of events comes after the organization unveiled its hashtag to be used for all centennial activities #WeAre100. The hashtag was selected through a social media campaign the regional youth committee launched earlier in the month entitled “#Hashtag It Up”. Community members, members, local chapters and supporters are encouraged to use the hashtag in their personal Homenetmen related postings.
In the next month, Homenetmen Western U.S.A. also plans to launch a website that will house the details for each of its centennial celebration and major events for the year in an effort to provide a space for community members to get active with all things Homenetmen. Community members are encouraged to check back www.WeAre100.info. For up to the minute updates, follow Homenetmen on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HomenetmenUSAWR and Instagram at @Homenetmen_Western_USA.
The Armenian General Athletic Union and Scouts, referred to as Homenetmen, is a 501 (C)3 non-profit organization founded in 1918, which has to date served over 800,000 youth in five continents. Homenetmen Western Region currently has 19 chapters. It is the largest Armenian athletic and scouting organization in the United States.
