The 11th annual Pan-Armenian Barbecue festival will take place on August 18th in Akhtala. Twenty teams of chefs will participate. The chairman of the Development and Preservation of Armenian Culinary Traditions NGO Sedrak Mamulyan and the head of the Armenian Tourism Federation Mekhak Apresyan spoke about what culinary surprises await tourists and guests during a press conference at Sputnik Armenia.
Mekhak Apresyan noted that the festival had international meaning; it is the most established and anticipated festival in the region. Thousands of people from dozens of countries come to Armenia yearly to take part in the festival. “We had a goal to ensure that tourists would come to Armenia for this festival. We even wanted them to have to make a choice: should we go to the Armenian barbecue festival or to the Brazilian masquerade… and that became a reality,” Mekhak Apresyan said. According to him, such festivals promote the economic activity of nearby villages.
Sedrak Mamulyan noted that many had doubts about the festival because it started around a time when culinary events did not take place. He said that choosing Akhtala to be the host town was not a coincidence, either. There was a state project to develop tourism in the northern regions of Armenia. There were also issues with developing the regions, developing tourist attractions, and making the national cuisine popular.
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He added that the festival will include an artistic portion, where there will be national music and dance, as well as a competition portion, where people will compete in categories such as best tasting, best look, and best thought-out. All participants will also be able to eat from the vendors. Mamulyan said that the festival got a lot of attention in Georgia and Russia, and tourists from those countries expressed the desire to visit.
Sedrak Mamulyan stated that it’s due to the festival that nearby towns have improved and caught the attention of tourists.
