Two Musical Legends Honored at Testimonial Banquet

FAIR LAWN, N.J.—“Friends of Onnik & John” threw a wonderful tribute dinner to honor two of our most beloved Armenian performers, Onnik Dinkjian and John Berberian. The banquet was held on Sat., Sept. 27 in Fair Lawn to a sold-out capacity crowd of more than 300 people.

Although the event was scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m., to everyone’s amazement, excited guests started arriving 30 minutes early and clamoring for photos with the 2 guests of honor. The champagne hour lasted nearly two hours, as four generations of

‘Friends of Onnik & John’ Committee members with the two honorees. (L-R) Anahid Dinkjian, Dr. Berdj Feredjian, John Berberian, Bert Bedrosian, Onnik Dinkjian, George Parnagian, Ara Dinkjian

friends and family mixed and mingled, hugged and mugged for the photographer and videographer capturing all the special moments the night would hold. The feeling in the room was palpable as many in the room had more than 60 years of shared milestones and memories among them. It was a magical evening by all accounts.

Following the champagne hour was a very traditional Armenian mezze, shish kebab dinner, and dessert. As dinner service started winding down, some touching retrospectives of the lives of Onnik and John began. Nikki Berberian-Whittlesey, Kristi Berberian-Markarian, and Adam Berberian presented a beautiful reflection of their father John’s life, taking turns to speak. This was followed by Ara Dinkjian, who presented a moving tribute to his father, Onnik.

The evening culminated with a very special and well-deserved honor. The Honorees were presented with a formal proclamation from Armenia’s Minister of Diaspora for their worldwide promotion and preservation of traditional Armenian folk songs.

Onnik and John were visibly moved throughout the evening, and each took the mic to express their sincere and humble gratitude for the honor presented to them by their Armenian community.

It was a dream come true for Bert Bedrosian, chairman of the “Friends of Onnik & John” Committee, who conceived, spearheaded, planned, and produced this once in a lifetime event. Guests rose to their feet in standing applause after Onnik and John delighted the crowd by performing two numbers to bring the very successful evening to a close. To view more photos, visit http://diran.smugmug.com/YourPortraits/Dinkjian-Berberian.