CANTON -- St. Lawrence University’s Department of History along with the European Studies program and the Center for International and Intercultural Studies will hold “The Centennial of the Armenian Genocide: A Night of Commemoration” to mark the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.

The event will take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22, in the Atwood Hall chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

Speakers will include an Armenian-American from Massena as well as other local Armenian Americans living in the North Country.

The commemoration will begin with a 30-minute clip from The Armenian Genocide (PBS, 2006), which focuses on the history of Armenians, the genocide itself, and denial by the Turkish state. Following the clip, several speakers will participate, including 93-year-old Sebouh Bogosian, an Armenian American from Massena, whose parents were both affected by the genocide. Also speaking will be Nina Melkonyan, an Armenian St. Lawrence student who would speak about her family’s history, Zeynepcan Akar, a Turkish St. Lawrence student who would speak of her own experience learning about the genocide in the last decade, and Kelly Bartlett, an American St. Lawrence student who has done academic work on the genocide in two classes.

The event will conclude with a commemoration ceremony, including Armenian folk music, candle lighting and offering of flowers for the dead, and a benediction. Light desserts and refreshments with Armenian cultural significance will be served after the concluding ceremony.

Anyone with appropriate images for the slideshow, musical suggestions or artistic or cultural objects for possible display, such as textiles or paintings, should contact Elun Gabriel at 229-5149 or email egabriel@stlawu.edu.