Calendar of Events
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Saturday, March 17, 2012
BOOK TALK: THE LINDEN AND THE OAK
Talk by Mark Wansa
Where: Fairfax County Government Center, 9002 Burke Lake Rd., Burke, VA
When: 2:00pm
Cost: free
Info forthcoming.
Co-sponsored by the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, National Capital Chapter.
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Saturday, February 4, 2012
SLOVAK NEEDLEWORK ART TREASURES: THEIR TECHNIQUES, MOTIFS, AND MEANINGS
Talk by Dr. Inez Giles
Where: Second-Floor Meeting Room, Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St.,
Arlington, VA (located midway between the Virginia Square-GMU and Ballston-MU Metro stations)
(Map)
When: 1:30pm
Cost: free
From the earliest times, every society has used the cross-stitch and the satin stitch as basic embroidery techniques. Over time, as skill levels increased and refined
tastes developed, other techniques were added, reflecting political and economic influences in societies. In Slovakia, these advanced embroidery techniques include
vyrez (cut work), mriezka (open work), kriva ihla (tambour), and beading, culminating in the zlata vysivka (gold work) embroidery from
Piest'any and Trnava. Dr. Giles will look at creative needlework artistry that is uniquely Slovak, examine the motifs that Slovak embroiderers use to create their
needlework art treasures, and look at specific Slovak textiles and folk costume pieces (kroj) and reflect on their context within Slovak society.
Attendees are invited to bring no more than three Slovak embroidered textiles for Dr. Giles to comment on (no appraisals will be done).
Inez Giles, is a professor of business and management, but her passion is, and always has been, Eastern European textile traditions. She is a certified judge with
the National Academy of Needlearts (NAN) and a certified textile appraiser with the American Needlepoint Guild (ANG), specializing in Eastern European textile appraisals.
Currently working on her NAN Honors research, Inez spends her free time traveling and researching Eastern European textile traditions. This summer she visited, and worked
with, museum curators in Trnava, Slovakia, and worked with an artisan to learn kriva ihla, the tambour embroidery of Slovakia. The question which guides her research is:
"How does this embroidered textile reflect the society in which it was created?"
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Sunday, December 4, 2011
SV. MIKULÁŠ (ST. NICHOLAS) PARTY
Join us for a traditional celebration of Slovak customs, music, and food, featuring a buffet dinner; the music of the renowned Slovak folk band Pajta‘i;
and for the children, a scheduled visit by Sv. Mikulá‘ himself.
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm - 5:00pm (doors open at 1:30pm)
Cost: $25 per person for SASW members; $30 for nonmembers; children age 10 & under, free.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. RSVP to Valerie McNeill, 703-241-0951 or vbuss714@hotmail.com, by November 25.
THE DEADLINE FOR RSVPs HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1st.
Those with small children should bring one small gift per child (wrapped and clearly labeled with the child’s name) to receive from Sv. Mikulá‘.
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Monday, November 21, 2011
SLOVAK FAMILY TRADITIONS
Talk by Professor Marta Botiková
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 6:30 pm (A light meal will be provided.)
Cost: free
The study of family relations and traditions is an important focus in the field of ethnology, looking at what families have in common and what features are specific to families
in different areas. Slovakia’s families, traditionally large and extended, were significantly affected by the urbanization and industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries,
the politics and ideology of the second half of the 20th century, and the new political, economic, and social changes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. In her
presentation, Prof. Botiková will explore whether there are still any family traditions left today.
Please RSVP to SASW by the end of Thursday, November 17, either via dcslovaks@yahoo.com or (703) 869-7088.
Marta Botiková is chair of the Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology at Comenius University, in Bratislava, with nearly thirty years of teaching and research
experience in ethnology and cultural anthropology. Her areas of expertise are theories of ethnicity, family studies, ethnic and national minorities in Slovakia and abroad,
and gender and area studies.
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Friday, October 21, 2011
"Let the Earth Be Glad: Sacred Hymns of the Carpathian Mountains"
Concert by the Seminary Choir of the Blessed Paul Gojdich Seminary, Pre‘ov, Slovakia.
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 7:00pm
Cost: free
The Slovak Embassy and SASW are co-sponsoring this concert of sacred music based on the singing tradition of the Carpathian Mountains of eastern Slovakia and southwestern
Ukraine. The program will include a liturgical selections and hymns in Church Slavic. For more information on the choir's tour, go
to http://www.seminaryconcerttour.com.
Please RSVP to the Slovak Embassy at emb.washington@mzv.sk.
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
SASW Annual General Membership Meeting
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 12:30 - 4:30pm (A light luncheon will be provided.)
Cost: free
The meeting will include the election of three board members for three-year terms and a book talk by Prof. Mark Stolarik (see below).
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BOOK TALK: The Prague Spring and the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968: Forty Years Later
Talk by Professor Mark Stolarik
When: 2:00 pm
With the opening of the formerly inaccessible archives of the Warsaw Pact after the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989, scholars were able to use these
sources to answer many lingering questions. Forty years after the forces of the Warsaw Pact invaded Czechoslovakia and put an end to the 'Prague Spring', eight scholars
from the member states of this former military alliance gathered at the University of Ottawa in the fall of 2008 to present fresh interpretations of these tragic events.
Leading scholars from the United States and Canada critiqued their work. Prof. Stolarik's book provides the latest scholarship on the 'Prague Spring' and the Warsaw Pact
invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Mark Stolarik is Professor of History and holder of the Chair in Slovak History and Culture at the University of Ottawa. From 1979 to 1991, he was president and CEO
of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies in Philadelphia, and director of its press. Prof. Stolarik is a specialist in the history of immigration and ethnic groups in North
America, with emphasis on the Slovak experience. He has published seven books and over 60 articles in the field, including Slovaks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1880-1976
(1985) and Immigration and Urbanization: The Slovak Experience, 1870-1918 (1989). He was a consultant and contributor to the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic
Groups (1980) and to the Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples (1999). At present, Prof. Stolarik is researching and writing the book Where Is My Home? A Slovak
Odyssey in the 20th Century.
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Sunday, October 2, 2011
SASW picnic
Where: 12910 Westbrook Dr., Fairfax, VA (home of Millie Schoepe-Evans)
When: 1:00 - 4:30pm
Cost: $10/members; $12/non-members; children 12 and under free. Members who are not current in their dues must either 1) pay non-member prices or 2)
renew their membership for 2011 to qualify for member event prices.
Admission is payable in cash or check upon arrival (consider also making a donation toward SASW scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia). Includes food, desserts,
drinks (i.e. soft drinks, wine, or two bottles of beer), recorded Slovak music, and volleyball.
Join us for a Slovak-style picnic, this year organized jointly with the Washington Slovak Meetup group and Slovakcooking.com. We will be grilling specially-made Slovak
sausages and will have segedínsky gulá‘ (sauerkraut stew with pork) with bread. Additionally, we will have živánska (pork or beef marinated with paprika and
baked with potatoes, onions, peppers, and klobasa), with tvarohové, orechové, and cabbage rezance-for kids and vegetarians, and Slovak Zlatý bažant beer.
Please consider bringing a small dessert or side dish (enough for about four persons). Everyone should also bring chairs.
RSVPs Needed by 12:00 midnight, Thursday, September 29. Call Tom Marton at 301-946-9174, or send an e-mail to
dcslovaks@yahoo.com.
Leftover food will be sold afterwards on a first-come, first-served basis. We will also have a fundraising raffle.
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Saturday, April 30, 2011
COMMUNISM'S TWISTED PATHS INTO CHRISTIAN SLOVAKIA
Talk by Dr. George Me‘ko
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00 pm
Cost: free
What were the ideological origins of the Marxist and socialist ideas that made their way into heavily Catholic Slovakia? George Me‘ko will discuss these beginnings based
on the research he did for his book Po stopách komunizmu a mílniky slovenskej krútnavy [In the footsteps of Communism and milestones of the Slovak maelstrom].
Dr. George Me‘ko, a retired pediatric cardiologist, practiced in Slovakia until the Warsaw Pact invasion of Slovakia in 1968 stranded him and his family outside the country.
Eventually they made their way to the U.S., where he practiced medicine and taught, while pursuing his love of history as a hobby. His previous book, combining the topics
of history and medicine, was published in English as The Silent Conspiracy: A Communist Model of Political Cleansing at the Slovak University in Bratislava After the Second
World War.
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Tuesday, March 22, 2011
BOOK TALK: MY SLOVAKIA, MY FAMILY (MOJE SLOVENSKO, MOJA RODINA)
Talk by John Palka
Where: Second-Floor Meeting Room, Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St., Arlington, VA (located midway between the Virginia Square-GMU and Ballston-MU Metro stations)
(map)
When: 6:30pm (A light meal will be provided.)
Cost: free
My Slovakia, My Family simultaneously tells the story of the Slovak nation and of John Palka’s extended family, which includes his grandfather, Milan Hodža,
the Czechoslovak prime minister from 1935 to 1938.
John Palka, Professor of Biology Emeritus at the University of Washington, is a two-time refugee who acculturated to, and built a successful career in, the United States, but
who never lost a deeply-felt connection with his Slovak homeland or his facility with the language. Video clips of John's interview for the Oral History Project conducted
by the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library can be seen at http://www.ncsml.org/Oral-History/All-Interviews/20100407/39/Palka-John.aspx.
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Saturday, March 12, 2011
BOOK TALK: TALES FROM SLOVAK CASTLES
Talk by Lucy King and Sylvia Lorinc
Where: Bertucci’s Restaurant (private room), 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. (next to George Washington University)
(map)
When: 11:00am
Cost: The talk is free, but individuals will order and pay for their own lunch
(Restaurant menu)
Tales from Slovak Castles, written by Lucy King and Sylvia Lorinc, is based on Dr. Ludovit Janota's Slovenske hrady, a collection of oral tales that was published in
1935 and is currently out of print. The stories from 15 castles in Slovakia include romance, war, mystery, comedy, and myth. Each chapter introduces a castle and then follows
it up with a tale and notes explaining the historic significance of the people in the tale.
Lucille P. King was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, to parents of Slovak descent. She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelors degree in economics and
later received a teaching certificate in mathematics from California University. Lucy studied the Slovak language with Sylvia Lorinc, at the University of Pittsburgh, and at
Comenius University in Bratislava. Currently, she owns the store La Boheme and the Connellsville Bed and Breakfast, located along the Great Allegheny Passage in Connellsville,
Pennsylvania.
Sylvia M. Lorinc was born in Bratislava, but left Slovakia with her mother after the Soviet Invasion in 1968, living as refugees in Austria until Canada offered them political
asylum. It was in Montreal that she met her future husband, John Lorinc, an American, and moved to the United States after marrying. At the University of Pittsburgh Sylvia
earned a bachelors and a masters degree, then taught Slovak at the University of Pittsburgh, and Russian for the Pittsburgh School District. Sylvia knew Dr. Janota, the author
of the original work, when she was a little girl in Bratislava. A close friend of the family, he often entertained them by telling these stories. So rapturously did Sylvia
listen, that Dr. Janota, who had no heirs, willed her these books.
Copies of Tales from Slovak Castles will be available for purchase and signing.
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Sunday, December 5, 2010
Sv. Mikulas (St. Nicholas) party
Join us for a traditional celebration of Slovak customs, music, and food, featuring a buffet dinner of traditional mushroom soup, pork schnitzels, Slovak potato salad,
holubky (meat and vegetarian), pirohy, ham, salad, and desserts; the music of the renowned Slovak folk band Pajta‘i; and for the children, a scheduled visit by
Sv. Mikulá‘ himself. Ms. Toni Brendel, author of Slovak-American Touches, will also attend and sign copies of her book.
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm - 5:00pm (doors open at 1:30pm)
Cost: $25/person for SASW members; $30/person for non-members; children age 10 and under free
Admission is payable in cash or check at the door. To expedite entry, please have your check already made out, payable to SASW. You may also join or renew your SASW membership
at that time. Also, we hope you will consider a donation toward SASW scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
RSVP to Valerie McNeill, 703-241-0951 or vbuss714@hotmail.com, by December 1.
Those with small children should bring one small gift per child (wrapped and clearly labeled with the child’s name) to receive from Sv. Mikulá‘.
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Saturday, October 23, 2010
SASW Annual General Membership Meeting
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 12:30 - 4:00pm (A light luncheon will be provided.)
Cost: free
The meeting will include the election of three board members for three-year terms and a talk by Marcel Jesenský (see below).
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BETWEEN REALPOLITIK AND IDEALISM: THE SLOVAK-POLISH BORDER, 1918-47
Talk by Marcel Jesenský
When: 2:00pm
In 1918-19, when Czecho-Slovakia and Poland failed to settle their border issues by themselves, they consented to accept the decision of the Paris Peace Conference. Unfortunately,
border delimitations between the two countries very rapidly degenerated into Realpolitik arm-twisting. An idealistic idea of a self-determination plebiscite ultimately gave way
to a solution that combined Realpolitik, negotiations, and behind-the-scenes maneuvering.
Marcel Jesenský is a doctoral candidate (ABD) and a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Ottawa. He received an M.Sc. and an M.A. from
universities in Slovakia and Canada, has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, and served as a diplomat at the Slovak Permanent Mission to the United Nations
in New York. He specializes in the history of international relations and diplomacy, and Central Europe and European integration.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
HOW YOUR ANCESTORS CAME TO AMERICA AND HOW TO FIND THEIR RECORDS
Talk by Tom Sadauskas
Where:McLean Government Center, 1437 Balls Hill Road, McLean, VA
When: 12:00 noon
Cost: free
Every family with immigrant ancestors has stories of how their family first arrived in America. Many of these stories contain grains of truth as well as unsubstantiated myths.
This presentation looks at the immigration process that our ancestors went through to come here to America, as well as the kinds of records that document their travels from
their European village to America.
Tom Sadauskas has been conducting genealogical research actively since 2000, focusing primarily on his Lithuanian ancestry and making several trips to Lithuania and Germany.
He has been successful in reestablishing contact with relatives in Lithuania, as well as contacting newly uncovered relatives. Tom was part of the first group of genealogists
to visit the International Tracing Service (ITS) archives, with its 50 million records on 17.5 million individuals, in May 2008, following the opening of the archives to the
public. He is a 2008 graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR), and has been a speaker at several genealogical conferences.
Co-sponsored by the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, National Capital Chapter.
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Sunday, June 27, 2010
SASW picnic
Where: 12910 Westbrook Dr., Fairfax, VA (home of Millie and Jim)
When: 1:00 - 4:30pm
Cost: $10/members; $12/non-members; children 12 and under free
Admission is payable in cash or check upon arrival (consider also making a donation toward SASW scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia). All are asked to bring
a small dessert (enough for about 4 persons) to share. Everyone should also bring chairs.
Please RSVP, BY THURSDAY, JUNE 24, to Tom Marton at 301-946-9174 or e-mail SASW at dcslovaks@yahoo.com.
This year's Slovak-style picnic is organized jointly with the Washington Slovak Meetup Group and Slovakcooking.com. We will be grilling specially-made sausage and fa‘írka
(a Slovak-style hamburger), with boiled potatoes and parsley (varené mladé zemiaky s maslom), a cabbage and noodle dish (kapustové halu‘ky), cucumber salad
(uhorkový ‘alát), with watermelon slices (cerstvý melón) and Slovak Zlatý bažant beer. Leftover food will be sold afterwards on a first-come,
first-served basis. We will also have a fundraising raffle.
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Saturday, May 22, 2010
TO JE ALE MUZIKA! WHAT'S SO SLOVAK ABOUT SLOVAK POP MUSIC?
Talk by Ben Sorensen
Where: 2nd Floor Meeting Room, Arlington County Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy St, Arlington, VA
(midway between Virginia Square and Ballston Metro stations)
When: 2:00pm
Cost:free
What's so Slovak about Slovak popular music? Ben will explore its folk-music roots to identify the elements that have been carried over into Slovak pop music, giving
it a distinct flavor. He’ll show us examples of what’s out there now and talk about how it’s evolved.
Ben Sorensen graduated with a BA in History and Music, only to move to Slovakia to fall in love with ethnomusicology and Slovak folk music. He learned to play the fujara
and pí‘talka in the fields of Podpolanie while also fronting a bluegrass band (Longhorns) and a progressive rock band (SIX) in Poprad.
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Saturday, April 17, 2010
SVADOBNÉ NÔTY: CEREMONIAL WEDDING TUNES AND SLOVAK TRADITIONAL CULTURE
Talk by Jadranka Važanová
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm
Cost:free
Svadobné nôty are wedding tune(s) that are unique to a locale and are sung a cappella, usually by women, during ritual moments of the ceremony.
What role do these tunes play in the traditional wedding ceremony and how do they fit into the broader context of traditional village culture?
Jadranka Važanová graduated in musicology and aesthetics from Comenius University in Bratislava and received her PhD in ethnomusicology from the City
University of New York, with a dissertation entitled “Svadobné nôty: Ceremonial Wedding Tunes in the Context of Slovak Traditional Culture“ (2008).
Ms. Važanová is a senior editor at RILM Abstracts of Music Literature in New York, where she translates, abstracts, and indexes music writings in Slavic
languages and German.
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Saturday, March 20, 2010
COOKING WITH MILLIE (HOLUBKY)
SASW founding member Millie Schoepe-Evans will conduct a
hands-on lesson in making holubky, the Slovak stuffed cabbage rolls that are such a hit at our annual Sv. Mikulá‘ party.
Participants will watch Millie demonstrate the various steps, then will make holubky themselves, taking home the finished product.
A recipe will be provided, but bring a pen or pencil to take notes and an apron to wear while you work.
Where: 12910 Westbrook Dr., Fairfax, VA (Millie's house)
When: 10:00am
Cost: $5/person, payable in cash at the start of the event. PLEASE NOTE THAT SASW MEMBERS WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY.
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED, AND WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FIRST 10 PERSONS TO RSVP TO dcslovaks@yahoo.com .
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Saturday, March 6, 2010
COOKING WITH MILLIE (HALUSHKY)
SASW founding member Millie Schoepe-Evans will conduct a hands-on lesson in making halushky, delicious Slovak dumplings made from potatoes.
Participants will watch Millie demonstrate the various steps, then will make halushky themselves, taking home the finished product.
A recipe will be provided, but bring a pen or pencil to take notes and an apron to wear while you work.
Where: 12910 Westbrook Dr., Fairfax, VA (Millie's house)
When: 10:00am
Cost: $5/person, payable in cash at the start of the event.
RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED, AND WILL BE LIMITED TO THE FIRST 10 PERSONS TO RSVP TO dcslovaks@yahoo.com .
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Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sv. Mikulas (St. Nicholas) party
Join us for a traditional celebration of Slovak customs, music, and food,
featuring a buffet dinner of kapustnica, pirohy, stuffed cabbage, and dessert,
the music of the renowned Slovak folk band Pajta‘i,
and for the children, a scheduled visit by Sv. Mikulá‘ himself.
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm - 5:00pm (doors open at 1:30pm)
Cost: $25/person for SASW members; $30/person for non-members; children age 10 and under free
Admission is payable in cash or check at the door. To expedite entry, please have your check already made out,
payable to SASW. You may also join or renew your SASW membership at that time.
Also, we hope you will consider a donation toward SASW scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
RSVP to Valerie McNeill, 703-241-0951 or vbuss714@hotmail.com, by December 1.
Those with small children should bring one small gift per child (wrapped and clearly labeled with the child’s name) to receive from Sv. Mikulá‘.
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
SASW Annual General Membership Meeting
Where: Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 E. Capitol St., Washington, DC.
When: Noon - 4:00pm (A light luncheon will be provided.)
Cost:free
The meeting will include the election of three board members for three-year terms and a talk by H.E. Dr. Branislav Lichardus on the opening of diplomatic relations between Slovakia
and the U.S., and on City University in Slovakia (which we support with scholarship funds).
Branislav Lichardus was the first ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the U.S., and is currently the rector of the College of Management of City University in Bratislava.
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Saturday, October 17, 2009
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN SLOVAKIA: FROM THE UNDERGROUND TO THE VELVET
REVOLUTION, AND 20 YEARS LATER
Talk by Professor David Doellinger
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 1:30pm
Cost:free
Professor Doellinger will talk about the Slovak secret church before 1989, the part it played in the Velvet Revolution, and the church’s role
in the 20 years since the collapse of communism.
David Doellinger is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR.
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Saturday, October 17, 2009
INTERRUPTED LIVES: CATHOLIC SISTERS UNDER EUROPEAN COMMUNISM
Documentary
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 3:00pm
Cost:free
A one-hour documentary that explores the lives and experiences of
Greek-Catholic and Roman-Catholic nuns in Eastern and Central Europe
under communism. Filmed on location in Hungary, Lithuania, Romania,
Slovakia, Ukraine, and the United States.
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Sunday, September 20, 2009
SASW picnic
Where: 12910 Westbrook Dr., Fairfax, VA (home of Millie and Jim)
When: 1:00 - 4:00pm
Cost: $8/members; $12 non-members; children under 12 free
Admission is payable in cash or check upon arrival (consider also making a donation toward SASW
scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia). All are asked to bring a dish to share: those
whose last name begins with A-O should bring a salad or a side dish, and those whose last name
begins with P-Z should bring a dessert. Everyone should also bring chairs.
Please RSVP to (301) 946-9174
Come enjoy specially-made klobasa (Slovak sausage), hamburgers, side dishes, desserts, and Slovak
beer. Bob Rychlik will entertain us with hauntingly beautiful music on his fujara (Slovak shepherd's pipe).
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Saturday, April 25, 2009
THE MEDIA AND THE NATION IN 20TH-CENTURY SLOVAKIA
Talk by Professor Owen V. Johnson
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm
Cost:free
During the last century, the Slovak mass media used a variety of ways to foster a sense of
nation among the people of Slovakia. In return, public opinion and the Slovak people’s responses
influenced the forms that the media took and the way that it operated throughout the 20th-century:
under Hungary, during the interwar republic, in the wartime Slovak state, during postwar democracy,
in the communist period through the "Prague" Spring, under post-1968 communism, and in the 1989-92
coda.
Owen Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Indiana University School of Journalism, Bloomington,
IN, where he specializes in the sociocultural roles and functions of journalism in Central and East
European societies, and in selected topics in U.S. journalism history.
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Saturday, March 14, 2009
BABA'S KITCHEN: SLOVAK & RUSYN FAMILY RECIPES AND TRADITIONS
Talk by author Lisa Alzo
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 3:00pm
Cost:free
Some of Lisa Alzo’s fondest memories from childhood are the times spent in her Baba's kitchen: the aromas of fresh bread
baking in the oven and chicken soup simmering on the stove, the blending together of voices young and old, and her grandmother
in her apron and babushka. The kitchen served as the center of their home and as the place where some of life's most
important lessons were taught and learned, simple principles of generosity, honesty, and love. It was also in this kitchen
that Lisa learned to eat the foods and celebrate the traditions that were central to her Slovak and Rusyn heritage.
Baba's Kitchen is a collection of recipes and traditions passed down through the generations in Lisa’s family. In this book
she shares them as a tribute to her grandmothers and to the Rusyn and Slovak women everywhere who continue to preserve
and share their cooking, rituals, and traditions.
Lisa Alzo grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and is the author of several books on Slovak and Rusyn subjects:
Three Slovak Women, Baba's Kitchen, Finding Your Slovak Ancestors, and Slovak Pittsburgh. She is also an avid
genealogist.
Copies of Baba’s Kitchen will be available for purchase and signing.
Co-sponsored by the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, National Capital Chapter.
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Saturday, February 21, 2009
WHAT’S SHAPING MODERN SLOVAKIA’S DEMOCRACY?
Talk by John A. Scherpereel of James Madison University
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm
Cost:free
Many different internal and external forces have influenced Slovak policymakers in re-organizing and re-orienting
Slovakia during the past 20 years. New regions have been established and real power sometimes shared with them. How do
ordinary Slovaks see this and how have they reacted to the changes?
John A. Scherpereel is assistant professor of political science at James Madison University.
Copies of Governing the Czech Republic and Slovakia: Between State Socialism and the European Union
will be available for purchase and signing by Prof. Scherpereel.
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Sunday, December 7, 2008
Sv. Mikulas (St. Nicholas) party
Join us for a traditional celebration of Slovak customs, music, and food,
featuring a buffet dinner of gulá‘, kapustnica, stuffed peppers, and dessert,
the music of the renowned Slovak folk band Pajta‘i,
and for the children, a scheduled visit by Sv. Mikulá‘ himself.
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm - 5:00pm
Cost: $25/person for SASW members; $30/person for non-members; children age 10 and under free
(Please note that the increase in admission is to offset our specially-prepared menu.)
Admission is payable in cash or check at the door. To expedite entry, please have your check already made out,
payable to SASW. You may also join or renew your SASW membership at that time.
Also, we hope you will consider a donation toward SASW scholarships at VSM/City University in Slovakia.
RESERVATIONS REQUIRED
RSVP to Valerie McNeill, 703-241-0951 or vbuss714@hotmail.com, by December 3.
Those with small children should bring one small gift per child (wrapped and clearly labeled with the child’s name) to receive from Sv. Mikulá‘.
For printable flyer please click here.
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Saturday, November 1, 2008
ANNUAL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 1:00pm
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Saturday, November 1, 2008
1989 in Slovakia: Why Communism in Czechoslovakia Failed So Spectacularly
Talk by Professor T. Mills Kelly of George Mason University
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:30pm
Cost: free
The 20th anniversary of the end of Communist rule in Central Europe is fast approaching. With the perspective of 20 years, how do we remember those exciting days and what have we learned about why Communism in Czechoslovakia failed so spectacularly?
T. Mills Kelly is an Associate Professor in the Department of History and Art History, and the Associate Director of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University.
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Wednesday, October 9, 2008
Siren of the Waters
Book presentation and signing
by Michael Genelin
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 7:00pm
Cost: free
Michael Genelin will read from his new book Siren of the Waters, the first in a new series of crime novels featuring Jana Matinova, a commander on the Slovak police force.
Michael Genelin, a graduate of UCLA and the UCLA Law School, has served in the LA District Attorney’s Office and the US Department of Justice in Central Europe. He has written for film and been adviser to television series. He now lives with his wife and daughter in Paris.
Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.
Co-sponsored by Soho Press
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Saturday, September 20, 2008
"Crossing the Continents and the Atlantic: An Early Slovak Account"
Talk by Professor Martin Votruba of the University of Pittsburgh
Where: Slovak Embassy
When: 2:00pm
Cost: free
An observant Slovak farmer wrote a remarkable, detailed account of his journey to the U.S. in 1913. Its careful reading gives us a rare insight into the logistics of the endeavor undertaken by hundreds of
thousands of others, and into their personal experiences and first impressions of their new homeland.
Martin Votruba is a professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, and the head of the Slovak Studies Program, at the University of Pittsburgh.
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