By Betty Apigian Kessel
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — I was sitting next to the modest man who has brain stormed many a successful community event along with Co-chair Corinne Khederian, the support of their dedicated committee and The Knights of Vartan saying to him, “I have quizzed several people today to see if they think this festival is now the number one attraction for the Armenian community and after a brief pause each reply was ‘Yes!’ What do you think, Edgar?”
With his ever-present smile, Edgar Hagopian looked at me and said, “we are trying to bring this fractured community together in a celebratory way and to accomplish something for Armenia and Karabagh as well.”
No one in recent years has done more to accomplish that purpose than Edgar Hagopian with deep roots in Bursa, Turkey the birthplace of his immigrant parents. His heart and soul is invested in the well-being of The Republic of Armenia. Edgar and his family run the magnificent showroom, Hagopian World of Rugs in fashionable Birmingham as well as in Novi, Ann Arbor, Utica and Oak Park.
The festival’s site this year was the Royal Oak’s Farmer’s Market in the heart of the jivin’ jumpin’ city known as a fun destination for throngs who fill the city’s eateries every day. Sleepy Royal Oak, a Detroit bedroom community, hasn’t been sleepy since its renaissance 15 years ago.