The 15th Annual Carpatho-Rusyn Celebration, organized by St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Church of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, under the direction of Bonnie Balas (C-RS, Uniontown) and Helen Oleksik, was a great success. The October 27 festival was headlined this year by Rusyn performers from Prešov, Slovakia -- singer Beata Begeni and accordionist Mychal Salak -- currently residing in Cleveland. They are the first European Rusyn performers to appear at the festival, and they thrilled the large audience with their broad, energetic repertoire of traditional and contemporary Rusyn songs. The Slavjane Folk Ensemble delighted the crowd with their Rusyn song, dance, and musical performance, and Jerry Jumba played Rusyn music and led a sing-along. Festival-goers had a rich offering of Rusyn cuisine to choose from, prepared by St. John’s expert cooks. C-RS officers John Righetti and Jerry Jumba described and showed videos from our recent C-RS Rusyn Homeland Tour. Other informative talks were given on the Union of Užhorod and Rusyn family folk customs. Sister Rita Keshock, OSBM and Bonnie Balas demonstrated the arts of egg etching and wood burning. A special display celebrating each of the festival’s 15 years showed the evolution of the festival. Our Carpatho-Rusyn Society contributed a large cultural display (costumes, art, crafts, icons, maps), and sold Rusyn cassettes, maps, books, and t-shirts. The parish “Ethnic Crafts Club” offered embroideries, pysankÿ, cookbooks, candles, and holiday items for sale. The Byzantine Catholic Sisters of Saint Basil also offered their greeting cards and art. All in all, the day was a fitting celebration of 15 years of Rusyn cultural festivals at St. John’s! Next year's Celebration will be Sunday, October 28, 1997.
Carpatho-Rusyns at International Village
The International Village ethnic festival, a McKeesport, PA institution, was held again this August at Renziehausen Park. The Carpatho-Rusyns were represented among the many other ethnic groups at this event, by St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, McKeesport, who offered a menu of Rusyn cuisine. The Carpatho-Rusyn food booth was under the direction of C-RS member, Edward Boyko, who is also the President of the United Societies of the U.S.A., a Carpatho-Rusyn Byzantine Catholic fraternal organization.
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Last modified on September 27 1997
URL:http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/crs/america9.htm
Greg Gressa [ggressa@carpatho-rusyn.org]
The Carpatho-Rusyn Knowledge Base