Keynote Speaker
Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he specializes in Iran, Turkey, and the broader Middle East.

A former Pentagon official, Dr. Rubin has lived in post-revolution Iran, Yemen, and both pre- and postwar Iraq. He also spent time with the Taliban before 9/11. For more than a decade, he taught classes at sea about the Horn of Africa and Middle East conflicts, culture, and terrorism, to deployed US Navy and Marine units.

Dr. Rubin is the author, coauthor, and coeditor of several books exploring diplomacy, Iranian history, Arab culture, Kurdish studies, and Shi’ite politics, including “Seven Pillars: What Really Causes Instability in the Middle East?” (AEI Press, 2019); “Kurdistan Rising” (AEI Press, 2016); “Dancing with the Devil: The Perils of Engaging Rogue Regimes” (Encounter Books, 2014); and “Eternal Iran: Continuity and Chaos” (Palgrave, 2005).

Dr. Rubin has a PhD and an MA in history from Yale University, where he also obtained a BS in biology.

Saturday, April 26
6 PM

St. Andrew Armenian Church
1370 S Stelling Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014

www.kzv.org/events

Dear Armenian Community of the San Francisco Bay Area!

You are cordially invited to celebrate Homenetmen Walnut Creek Gars chapter’s 25th Anniversary Gala on May 10th.
We sincerely hope you will join us for an unforgettable evening of dinner, dancing, and celebration as we honor our community’s achievements.

Please RSVP by April 26th.

For purchasing individual tickets, sponsoring the event, or placing an ad in our ad book, please visit this link: https://www.walnutcreekgars.org/gala
Thank you for your continued support and dedication. We look forward to celebrating with you!

Homenetmen Walnut Creek Gars
Executive Committee

RSVP: https://www.walnutcreekgars.org/gala

Advance tickets are available online. You are advised to purchase advance tickets for this event. 

Barbar Band

Modern Soundscapes in Armenian Music

Barbar Band is a creative collaboration between Khatchadour Khatchadourian, vocalist and duduk player, and Karine Vann, pianist, and musicologist. Combining modern musical styles with traditional instrumentation, the duo presents arrangements of Armenia’s folk, troubadour, and sacred music, which include musical landscapes both old and new to showcase the incredible diversity in these timeless songs of love, loss, faith, and the land.

Featuring:

Karine Vann – Piano and Vocals
Khatchadour Khatchadourian – Duduk and Vocals

Saturday, May 17th, 2025
Time: 7:00 pm doors, 7:30 pm show
Admission: (Online) $25-30 / (Door) $30 general, $25 student & senior

Red Poppy Art House 2698 Folsom Street San Francisco, CA 94110

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ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Khatchadour is a Lebanese-Armenian vocalist and musician. He sings in Armenian, Arabic, and Farsi, and plays the Armenian double reed woodwind, Duduk. Khatchadour has released five albums and is working on his sixth album, Shounch: Breath.

Follow his work on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!

Karine Vann is a pianist and researcher with degrees in classical piano from the Jacobs School of Music and Musicology from the University of Oxford. Originally from the DC area, she studied improv with local jazz master Wade Beach for two years before moving to Armenia, where she worked with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage to help preserve and document the country’s rich folk culture. She currently resides in Napa, where she teaches piano, singing, improvisation, and arranging.

Follow her work on Facebook, and Instagram!

EVENT DETAILS

Saturday, May 17th, 2025
Time: 7:00 pm doors, 7:30 pm show
Admission: (Online) $25-30 / (Door) $30 general, $25 student & senior

Note: A limited quantity of additional tickets will be available for purchase at the door unless otherwise noted on the Facebook event page that the show is SOLD OUT.

Purchase advance tickets for this event

Note: Purchasing an advance ticket guarantees admission but does not guarantee a seat. Seating is first come, first served.

RSVP to the Facebook event:

Volunteer for this event!

On November 8, 2025, AIWA-San Francisco will be hosting a gala dinner dedicated to celebrating the legacy of the Apcar family.

College of Marin’s Winter semester enrollment is now open! 
Here is the list of my Winter courses which feature Armenia, Georgia, and the region. ..
See catalogue or website for more info!
Happy New Year! -Talin

Castles Churches, and Caravanseris!
5 class meetings, Tuesdays 1:10- 3PM
Kentfield Campus, Academic Center room 101
2/4 – 3/4
$126

Medieval Near East 
4 class meetings, Thursdays 1:10-3pm
IVC Campus Novato, building 7 room 101
2/20 – 3/13
$112

https://marincommunityed.augusoft.net

Our upper-floor, northwest gallery exhibit, Armenian Needlelace: Poetry in Thread, is now open for tours by appointment. Tours with curator Elise Youssoufian are conducted Monday, Friday, and some Saturdays.
     Our permanent collection is home to thousands of precious textile works of art, but perhaps most remarkable and splendid of them all are the many delicate Armenian needlelace circles. We invite you to join us in celebrating their makers’ immense skill and handiwork, their exuberant creativity, and their exceptional persistence.

Beginning August 16th, exhibit tours will be available most Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 1pm or 3pm, by appointment. All Lacis exhibit tours are free for museum members with up to four guests; otherwise, they are $3 per person. To book a tour, please call Lacis at 510.843.7290 or email info@lacismuseum.org.

Opening night is on August 9, 2024 from 6-8 pm.

You must make an appointment to visit the exhibit after August 9, Tour appointment Call (510-843-7290)

Hamazkayin SF Nigol Aghpalian chapter is proud to sponsor this beautiful event.

https://lacismuseum.org/exhibits.html

Link for Cruise information