Slavic festival livens downtown Youngstown

June 18, 2017 at 12:08a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

John Slanina cried when he and Sam Krempasky connected with each other for the first time in 17 years.

“I could not believe it; I just could not believe it,” an emotional Slanina said. “We both had a tear.”

Slanina and Krempasky met on a three-week bus trip through Europe when Slanina was a 19-year-old Youngstown State University student. He went as a paid tourist on behalf of Youngstown Sister Cities Inc., a 26-year-old organization that laid the groundwork for Youngstown to adopt Spisska Nova Ves, Slovakia, as its Sister City.

Many local Rusyn and Slovak families come from that region.

Krempasky, a first-generation Slovak from Massillon, was equally moved to have reunited with Slanina after nearly two decades. Both men shared and recorded their recollections as part of Tell Your Slavic Story, one of several new attractions of the seventh annual Simply Slavic festival, which took place Saturday on East Federal Street, downtown.

The all-day ethnic fest was to celebrate Slavic customs, culture, music, food and traditions while honoring Father’s Day, which is today. Another positive aspect of the gathering is that it can allow for powerful moments, such as people finding and reconnecting with one another, noted Slanina, an event organizer.

Recording Slanina and Krempasky’s stories for historical purposes was Sarra M. Mohn, an event planning committee member who also owns Jet Creative, a design and digital-marketing agency.

“I think it’s important to preserve some of their stories, maybe for the last generation to come,” Mohn said, adding that many people’s narratives dealt with everything from trying to find lost loved ones to sharing ethnic recipes to remembering long-ago times with relatives.

Telling their stories also can motivate some to continue in their efforts to find loved ones, she said.

“My desire is to preserve these intimate stories from their hearts,” Mohn added.

Another story that arguably goes to the heart of the festival’s intentions came from Peter Sedlacko, a visiting researcher from Spisska Nova Ves who is trying to start a company that combines bioengineering and additive manufacturing to make 3-D printed implants.

“I want to custom and manufacture implants” for people who suffered injuries from car accidents and need facial implants, for example, explained Sedlacko, who is collaborating with YSU and the Youngstown Business Incubator.

Sedlacko, who will return home in mid-July after having spent three months in the Mahoning Valley, also is pursuing a doctoral degree in mechatronics, a field that combines electronics with systems, control, computer and mechanical engineering.

Adding to the festival’s international flavor was Jan Volny, mayor of Spisska Nova Ves, who brought two artisanal woodcarvings that will be installed in Youngstown City Hall. One depicts the seal of Youngstown and the other shows the seal of Spisska Nova Ves.

Many attendees got out of the heat by sitting under a large tent to enjoy a variety of polka tunes courtesy of the popular Del Sinchak Band. The fest also had the usual ethnic foods, including stuffed cabbage, halushki (cabbage and noodles) and Cossack dinners (two stuffed cabbage, halushki, two pirogi pickles and a roll) for $12 a plate, along with several types of pastries and Slavic beers.

Items for sale included compact discs, ethnic buttons, pins, beads and necklaces, wood-carved icons, colorful nesting dolls, coffee mugs, shell bracelets, religious pieces and stuffed animals. Also available were Simply Slavic T-shirts for $15 apiece.

In addition, the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County was on hand for those interested in conducting genealogical research or who wished to receive library cards and check out materials.

Many attendees also were drawn to a display board that showed photographs of famous Croatian-Americans, such as Gov. John Kasich, former Major League Baseball player Roger Maris and Tony Butala, lead singer with The Lettermen, a pop vocal trio that formed in the late 1950s.

Other photos showed locally and nationally known Slovak-Americans, including Leslie Barrett, a 21 WFMJ-TV anchor; Dave Dravecky, a former MLB pitcher; and actor Paul Newman.

Slanina, one of the event organizers, couldn’t help but praise the ethnic foods that are a staple of the annual event.

“We feel our model is unique for the authentic food that’s cooked in churches across the Mahoning Valley,” he said, adding the festival was to end with a dance around 14 flags that represent the 13 Slavic nations and Carpatho-Rusyn, which encompasses parts of Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland.