Rhode Island Armenian community to sponsor Youth Day, organize genocide commemoration
On Tuesday, April 21, 2026, the Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Committee is sponsoring its 26th Annual Rhode Island Armenian Youth Day at Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church, 70 Jefferson St., Providence, for children ages 7-14. Registration begins at 8:45 a.m.; the program starts at 9:15 a.m. and concludes at 2:30 p.m. For more information, call or text Dr. Zarouhi (Zara) Vartanian-Hajinian at 401-439-5971 or email Vartanianz@aol.com. Lunch is provided and there is no charge for the day.
On Sunday, April 26, 2026, the 111th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian Genocide will be commemorated at the Martyrs’ Monument, North Burial Ground, Providence, starting at 12:30 p.m. A service in remembrance of the Holy Martyrs will be held with the participation of clergy and deacons from Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Armenian Church, Sts. Vartanantz Armenian Church and the Armenian Evangelical Church.
The guest speaker will be Dr. Asya Darbinyan. Dr. Darbinyan is the executive director of Chhange (Center for Holocaust, Human Rights and Genocide Education) at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey. She also serves as vice president of the Society for Armenian Studies and is a member of the Armenian Society of Fellows and the Academic Council of the Armenian National Institute. She earned a Ph.D. in history from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. Her research focuses on genocide, refugees and humanitarian interventions. She has published widely in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes and has presented her work at international academic conferences. She has taught courses on comparative genocides, gender and genocide, the Holocaust and Armenian history at Clark University, Northern Arizona University and Stockton University. Prior to her academic work in the United States, she served as deputy director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Armenia.
Although many changes have occurred over the years, the martyrs and all that the survivors went through are remembered each year on or around April 24. The local Armenian community and the public at large are invited to join the 111th anniversary commemoration to remember the Holy Martyrs, survivors of the genocide and Armenians displaced from Artsakh.
In the event of inclement weather, the commemoration will be held in the sanctuary of the Armenian Evangelical Church, 180 Oaklawn Ave., Cranston, Rhode Island.
Armenian Martyrs’ Memorial Committee of Rhode Island is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
