sobota, september 25, 2004

Pittsburgh Slovenes celebrate

Last weekend, around 300 ethnic Slovenes and friends in the Pittsburgh region of Pennsylvania celebrated the 100th anniversary of their emigration to the United States and the formation of their local branch of Slovenska Narodna Podporna Jednota (SNPJ) in Evanstown. The celebration was timed to coincide with the group’s annual grape festival and the 20th anniversary of the Slovenian Heritage Association.

The Slovenian Heritage Association was created by Frank Kalik, and organizes the Slovene presence at the annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival, held each year in May. Its current president is John Malec.

The celebrations featured winemaking demonstrations, folk music and a parade of folk costumes. Reigning Miss SNPJ Caralyn Fejka of Youngstown, Ohio, performed [The Valley Independent / 22.09.04 / Slovenians celebrate heritage].

posted by editor @ 7:15 pop.