Simply celebratory: Slavic festival keeps culture ‘alive’

June 17, 2012 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

For Dinah Fedyna, taking her daughter, Natalia Novicky, to Simply Slavic on Saturday was about much more than just getting a chance to see Natalia dance on stage, or sampling the wide range of ethnic foods that were available.

It was about exposing her daughter to the Slavic culture that they share, even though they are not biologically related.

All four of Fedyna’s grandparents were from Ukraine, and that is where Natalia, 10, was born. Fedyna and her husband traveled to Ukraine and adopted Natalia when she was 3 Ω years old.

“We’re going to spend most of the day hanging out here,” said Fedyna, 54, a doctor who lives and practices in Austintown.

Natalia is a member of the Youngstown Ukrainian Dancers, which was among the many groups who performed during Saturday’s all-day celebration of all things Slavic.

The festival was founded last year by David Slanina and Ken Shurilla, and Slanina said it more than doubled in size from its inaugural year. Saturday’s event took place on East Federal Street between Market Street and South Avenue.

“The main goal of [Simply Slavic] is to keep the heritage alive,” said Slanina, 28, who works as an accountant at the Cleveland Clinic. “We love it, and we’re committed to preserving the culture.”

The event is downtown because not only is it the hub of the culturally diverse city, but it’s “where our ancestors all came when they came here to this town generations ago,” Slanina said.

The festival was divided into specific segments where visitors could learn about Slavic heritage, visit a marketplace that specialized in the sale of Slavic wares, enjoy entertainment that celebrated Slavic culture, and, of course, enjoy a wide range of Slavic foods, including stuffed cabbage, haluski, baked pirogi, chicken paprikash and much more.

“You can only sell Slavic foods here,” Slanina said. “We don’t have a french fry stand. You can get those anywhere. This is all about celebrating our ethnic heritage.”

The gates opened at noon, and visitors were charged $3 each to enter. By 1 p.m., East Federal was filled with people of all ages.

“I love the fact that in the Mahoning Valley, we celebrate our ethinic backgrounds and variety,” said state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, who visited the festival with his wife, Margaret. “It shows a lot about our Valley that at 1 o’clock it’s already filled up here.” The festival continued until midnight.

Rose and Dale Baker of Boardman brought their granddaughters, 11-year-old Emma Baker and 7-year-old Erica Baker, because they wanted the girls to learn about their family background, traditions and cultures. Rose, whose maiden name is Terzek, has roots in Croatia, where the couple visited a year ago.

“It was spectacular,” said Dale. “I felt like I was in my own homeland, and I’m not even Croatian. All my family is from England.”

“They don’t know a lot about their Croatian heritage,” Rose said of her granddaughters. “That’s why we brought them here. We’re just learning as much as we can.”

Likewise, Norm and Mary Jane Guidos, both 78, of Coitsville, saw the festival as a chance to broaden the scope of their knowledge about their Eastern European roots. Her parents and his grandparents are all from Slovakia. The couple belongs to the Youngstown-Warren chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society and is taking Slovak language lessons in Farrell, Pa.

Mary Jane said she found it interesting to visit the heritage tent and compare the languages of the various Slavic countries.

“It’s good to see all the ethnic programs here, and to just be able to talk to other people and share information,” said Norm.