Posted: September 6, 2024 3:11 pm
The Polacek Family Johnstown Slavic Festival is set for Fri.-Sat., Sept. 20-21, with a program of Slavic dance, music, food, speakers, crafts and more, all taking place in the parking lot and courtyard of the Heritage Discovery Center in Johnstown.
Polacek Family Johnstown Slavic Festival minisite
As always, the festival is free, and admission to the Heritage Discovery Center/Johnstown Children’s Museum is free all day Friday from 10:00 am-8:00 pm, and Saturday from 10:00 am-6:00 pm.
The festival will feature traditional Slavic music and dance, including dance, folk music, accordion players, polka, and more. The performances will take place on a stage in the Heritage Discovery Center parking lot, and a stage in the courtyard.
“This year’s festival has more music, more food vendors and more entertainment than ever before, and we are hosting our first ever international performers, Vagonar, a 33 member musical/dance group from Slovakia,” said MaryAnn Ritko, a member of the organizing committee. “We are excited to continue the tradition of presenting the most authentic Slavic Festival anywhere in the United States!”
Authentic Slavic food will be sold, beginning at 4:00 pm on Friday, and noon on Saturday.
Slavic beers will be for sale, including: Sarajevsko Dark, Lager, and Lemon (Bosnia); Primator (Czech Republic), and Czechvar (Czech Republic); and Zywiec and Zywiec Porter (Poland), Juliska Jell-O shots, made from a mixture of Slivovitz and Kruskovac, will be offered, as well as Slavic spirits and wine.
Slavic crafts will be available for sale, and a variety of organizations will be on hand to share information:
The festival is being organized by a volunteer committee chaired by Brian Subich.
Major sponsors for the Polacek Family Johnstown Slavic Festival are William Penn Association, Best Window & Door Co., AmeriServ Financial, The Croatian Hall, Wealth Management Partners, ProVia, Gary Madia Insurance Agency, and Somerset Trust. JAHA has provided organizational and technical support for the festival.
Paid parking is available in the Best Window lot on Sixth Avenue, near Broad Street, which benefits the event.
Main Stage
4:30-6:00 pm: Bill Bevec Band: The Bill Bevec Band has been playing and promoting polka music for over 50 years at festivals, ballrooms, dance halls, and picnic grounds all over the USA and Canada. The band has also played at well over 1,000 wedding receptions, anniversary parties, reunions, and many other affairs requiring the best in musical entertainment. A Johnstown native, Bill has not led his own band thru the years, but also performed with many bands as a side man when duty called. He has worked with The Jack Vasco Band, Rex Taneri Band, Jack Tady Band, Frank Gallo, Jack Persin, Al Hreno and Jerry Intihar ,as well as many others over the years.
6:30-8:00 pm: Folklore ensemble VAGONÁR Slovakia: Founded in 1972, full of songs and dances. The ensemble consists of more than 70 active members, who are representing traditional Slovak folklore in Slovakia and abroad. Vagonár is trying to spread the beautiful Slovak folklore by performing its music, songs, and dances on stages.
Spilling water on young girls on Easter, building May poles, midnight wedding ceremonies and Christmas caroling are all inseparable folk customs and traditions Vagonár tries to keep up.
Vagonár ‘s repertoire includes many all-evening shows, consisting of dynamic dances and singing from different regions of Slovakia.
8:30-10:00 pm: Mollov Band: Born in Bulgaria to a family of self-taught wedding musicians, Vladimir Mollov was inspired by the sounds of the accordion since early childhood. At 18 months old, he “played” his little accordion alongside his father at weddings. At the age of seven he started taking formal accordion lessons with the nationally recognized pedagogue Nadejda Nicheva in Kazanluk, Bulgaria. At his later stages of musical development he studied with Dr. Peter Marinov at the National Music Academy, internationally recognized accordion artist Hristina Danova, and Nedlcho Dimitrov, a laureate of national and international accordion festivals and competitions. At the age of 13 Vladimir placed fourth in an accordion competition in Vladivostok. Two years later he placed first in the International Competition for Accordion and Guitar in Asenovgrad, Bulgaria, and received fourth place in the World Accordion Competition in Castelfidardo, Italy.
Since then, Vladimir has been recognized at several national and international accordion competitions including first place at the 2002 National Competition for Variety Music and Jazz in Novi Pazar, Bulgaria, and second place with a special award for virtuosic performance of folk music in the National Accordion Competition 2000 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In 2002 he joined the Duquesne University Tamburitzans and performed more than 350 shows with the ensemble over a four year period. Vladimir still continues to arrange dance and instrumental music for the Tamburitzans. In 2009, Vladimir released his first album, Dreams, featuring all original instrumental pieces combining Balkan folk, jazz and fusion styles. He is a founding member of the Argentinean tango quintet, Cuidado, with which he recorded an album featuring traditional and modern tangos as well as two of his original compositions. Vladimir has performed with the Kruno Spisic Gypsy Jazz Ensemble, Bulgarika, and numerous other bands. He is featured as a guest on Babik’s 2008 gypsy jazz album, American Gypsy. Vladimir has been a featured artist for Siwa and Figli Accordions since 2009 and plays the Super Quatro model.
Courtyard Stage
4:30-6:00 pm: Jim Vizzini: Jim is a self-taught accordion player who has been playing for 10 years. He will perform on his specially engineered accordion that actually sounds like a full orchestra.
6:30-8:00 pm: Jerry Intihar Tribute: Some call him a polka legend; others call him the Polka King of Johnstown. Although he’ll disagree, no one can deny Jerry Intihar’s remarkable musical journey over the past 78 years! A Johnstown native, he began playing the accordion at age eight and eventually found himself performing in many groups such as “America’s Polka King” Frank Yankovic, Eddie and the Slovenes, Slovene Polka Chaps, Harmony Tones, and even Lou Stein’s All that Jazz. Jerry formed the Jerry Intihar Band in 1972 and has played thousands of festivals, clubs, weddings, anniversaries, and private events across the country.
In 2024, Jerry retired from performing due to ongoing health issues, but wants his band to continue the tradition. So, join Ben Sakmar (his drummer and grandson), longtime band members – Tony Zupanchick (accordion, keys, and vocals) and Bud Demetro (banjo and guitar), along with Dink Makowski (bass) and Joe Alsippi (sax and vocals) as they celebrate Jerry’s musical career.
8:30-10:00 pm: Johnstown Button Box Club: The Johnstown Area Button Box Club was organized in 1981 by a group of area musicians who shared a deep love for the Button Box Accordion as an ethnic musical instrument. The group’s first appearance at the Unter Uns Club in Altoona, in the fall of 1981 led to the Club’s formal organization shortly afterward.
Under the leadership of music director Bob Sedei and Charter and then Club president Joe McCloskey, the club has grown immensely popular in the Johnstown area. Joe and Bob are still playing with the Club 43 yrs later. Since then, the Club has appeared at various picnics, festivals, and social events throughout the area. The current club consists of Joe McCloskey, Bob Sedei, Lou Bafile, Ed Zablotney, John Kaiser and John Skarlsky.
Main Stage
12:00-12:30 pm: Otets Paissii Performing Folk Ensemble: Under the Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational and Cultural Center, Otets Paissii Performing Folk Ensemble has been delighting local and international audiences for nearly 70 years. The Ensemble was formed by Nicholas Jordanoff in 1955, commensurate with the First Annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival. This talented group of singers, dancers, and musicians presents its annual performance each spring and performs regularly at venues in Pittsburgh and across the United States. The ensemble is an annual participant in the BMNECC’s “Na Megdana” Bulgarian Festival, as well as the “Verea” Bulgarian Festival in Chicago. Celebrating 69 years, this dynamic performing ensemble delights in taking audiences along with them on a cultural journey of music, song and dance to the unique regions of Bulgaria and Macedonia. The ensemble is named for Otets Paissii, the monk who wrote the first comprehensive history of the Bulgarian people. Otets Paissii Performing Folk Ensemble is under the direction of Artistic Director, Bilyana Stoyanova Stafura, and Managing Director, Beth A. Stafura. The entire ensemble, with the support of the BMNECC, takes an immense responsibility in making each season successful – through fundraising to costuming, organizing to developing – through volunteering committees reaching all areas of the organization. The ensemble’s roots span many generations, and the passion of its dancers shines through in every performance. The Ensemble is excited for their upcoming tour to Bulgaria in June of 2025 with planned performances and workshops with other Bulgarian ensembles and artists.
1:00-2:30 pm, Sokyra: Sokyra is a group of family, friends and musicians who have played together in various ethnic groups and folk bands in the Pittsburgh area for decades. Sokŷra is the Carpatho-Rusyn word for a shepherd’s ax that’s prominent in the Carpathian Mountains. Sokŷra puts a modern twist to the rich folk music of Carpatho-Rusyns and Slovaks as well as all types of Slavic and non-Slavic music from Central and Eastern Europe.
3:00-4:30 pm, Sviraj: The members of Sviraj are life-long friends who grew up together in an ethnically diverse steel town in Pennsylvania. They learned the music of their culture and others through many, many performances, jam sessions and encounters with folk musicians from the ethnic communities in the United States and the Balkans.
5:00-6:30 pm, Saturday mainstage; 1:30-2:30 pm Saturday courtyard stage: Tamburaški Sastav Svemir: Located in Cokeburg, PA, Tamburaški Sastav Svemir is a lively tambura band who has been entertaining crowds since 2021. Consisting of four members, Krista Gush – lead tambura, Dave Jones – tambura, Marko Luketich Kochis – lead vocals/kontra, and Dan Plumley – vocals/bass, Svemir are all alumni of St. George Jr. Tamburitzans and have been friends for many years.
Frequently characterized as a Slavonian tambura band, Svemir plays traditional and modern tambura music mainly from Croatia. Notable performances include annual appearances at the Croatian Embassy in Washington, D.C., opening for Gazde at the Hard Rock Cafe in Pittsburgh, CFU Festivals, and many occasions where they feel most at home playing around the bar at various Croatian events.
7:00-9:00 pm: Folklore ensemble VAGONÁR Slovakia
Courtyard Stage
12:00-1:00 pm: Jacob Czerak: Jacob is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. He has played the accordion for fourteen years after learning to play from his late grandfather Geno DeRubis at eight years old. He enjoys playing the accordion because it always puts a smile on peoples’ faces, bringing them joy. Jacob is a 2023 graduate of Penn State University, where he was Vice President of The Penn State Glee Club, and hopes to pursue a career in aviation.
1:30-2:30 pm: Tamburaški Sastav Svemir
3:30-4:15 pm: Sokyra
4:30-6:00 pm: Matt Sepesy: Matt Sepesy has been playing the Slovenian button box accordion for 25 years, in addition to the piano accordion. He also buys, sells, trades, collects, repairs, tunes, teaches, and sells accordions, as well as music books and accessories. He previously played with the Yukon Button Box club before forming his own group.
6:30-8:00 pm: Johnstown Button Box Club
Speakers
All presentations will take place on Saturday, September 21 inside the Heritage Discovery Center’s first-floor education center.
· 1:00 pm: Robert Jerin, “Finding Your Lost Slavic Family.” Expert genealogist Robert Jerin, who is of Croatian descent, will discuss strategies for conducting family research, with special emphasis on resources especially useful to those of Slavic descent.
· 3:00 pm: John Righetti: “The ‘S’ Words — Are They All the Same Thing?” Slavic, Slav, Slavonic, Slavish, Slovak, Slovenian — what do they all mean? John Righetti will discuss the distinctions of the ‘S’ words.
· 5:00 pm: Dean Poloka: “The Life of Father Alexander Dukhnovych, the Awakener of the Rusyns.” Priest, poet, writer, and social activist, Alexander Dukhnovych (1803-1865) was a Greek Catholic priest who was an important Rusyn humanist and educator. Dean Poloka will give an overview of his life and influence.
Cooking demonstrations
All presentations will take place on Saturday, September 21 inside the Heritage Discovery Center’s cafe.