114th Annual Memorial Day Picnic May 30, 2011

CALIFORNIA’S OLDEST ARMENIAN CHURCH TO
MARK MILESTONE MEMORIAL DAY

The First Armenian Presbyterian Church of Fresno will mark the 145th Anniversary of Memorial Day in America with its 114th Annual Decoration Day Picnic.
The public picnic will take place on Monday, May 30, 2011, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Central Unified Aquatics Complex, 3535 North Cornelia Avenue at Dakota Avenue in Fresno. More information is available by calling (559) 237-6638 or e-mailing fapc@fapc.net.
The Aquatics Complex is located at the Central High School East Campus, one and one-half miles west of State Highway 99.
Dedicated in the millennium, the Complex features enclosed and open-air waterslides leading to a spacious landing pool. An adjacent zero-entry activity pool includes a host of water novelties for swimmers and waders of all ages. Red Cross-certified lifeguards will monitor the pools and slides. Shaded canopies, a lush terrace, and a snack/beverage bar round out the venue.
The picnic menu will feature half-pound hamburger meals for $5.00 per person and Miller Gourmet Hot Dog meals for $4.00 per person, with a dessert bar featuring an array of homemade pastries and baked goods drawn from the congregation’s acclaimed recipe collection, “A Hundred Years and Still Cooking.”
Memorial Day was first observed on May 5, 1866 when citizens of the Village of Waterloo in the Finger Lakes area of New York State decorated graves of soldiers of the recently concluded Civil War.
Chartered by 40 Armenian immigrants on July 25, 1897, FAPC today is a multigenerational, multilingual congregation of 400 drawn from the Old and New Worlds. Members of the immigrant church have served in the U.S. Armed Forces throughout its existence.
Reverend Mgrdich Melkonian is the Senior Pastor of the Church, Reverend Eric E. Thompson is the Interim Associate Pastor, and Raffi and Maral Karayan are co-chairs of the Memorial Day Picnic for the second consecutive year.
The boyhood church of authors William Saroyan and A.I. Bezzerides, FAPC is a transitional member congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and the Armenian Evangelical Union of North America.
The 2011 theme of the congregation is “A New Community.”