43
Polish decorators egg on amateurs at Mill Creek
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
It didn’t matter if you were Polish at the D.D. and Velma Davis Education Center on Sunday. People of all heritages were able to learn about egg-decorating traditions.
Eggstravaganza, a joint effort of Mill Creek MetroParks and Polish Youngstown, included demonstrations, hands-on activities and opportunities to purchase Polish food and decorated eggs.
The traditional Polish event “at Easter-time is called Swieconka,” said Marianne Poprik of Polish Youngstown. “Swieconka is sort of an Easter festival where planning and decorating is done for Easter.”
Polish Youngstown sponsors an egg-decorating event in the community annually.
At Eggstravaganza, visitors were able to try their hand at pisanki, or decorating eggs with wax; palmowa tkania, the art of weaving palm fronds; and wycinanki, which is decorating eggs with small pieces of very thin paper.
Designs were displayed from Slavic countries, as well as Hungary and Japan.
Layla Tressa, 3, who attended the event with her grandmother Marie Bryer and her mom Jessica Tressa, enjoyed decorating an egg with wax.
Using a pin-tip stuck into the eraser on the end of a pencil and dipped in colored, melted wax, she drew on a white egg.
Layla said she used purple because it’s her favorite color. She said it was fun.
The family, of Lowellville, enjoys events at Mill Creek Parks regularly, said Bryer.
“I think it’s cool,” she said about Sunday’s event. “It’s pretty neat how they do a lot of different stuff with the palm and the egg.”
Sue Novotny of Canfield and her granddaughter Kaitlin Novotny of Boardman also tried decorating eggs with wax.
“It’s cool,” Kaitlin, 11, said.
Her grandmother added, “This is a lot of fun.”
Sue said the event was a chance for the pair to decorate some eggs and celebrate Easter.
“I had no idea we were coming here,” Kaitlin said. She was glad her grandmother surprised her.
They are not of Polish heritage but said they enjoyed learning about the culture.
Also at the event, vendors offered a variety of ethnic items for purchase, and Krakus Deli sold homemade food. Demonstrators came from Detroit, Cleveland , Pittsburgh, and Sharon, Pa., for the event.