Pitt to Host 22nd Annual Slovak Heritage Festival Nov. 4

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh Slovak Studies Program and the Pitt Student Slovak Club will present the 22nd Annual Slovak Heritage Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 4 in the Commons Room of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland. 

The free public event will feature Slovakian cultural displays, ethnic foods, lectures, and musical performances. The affair seeks to provide a unique opportunity for Slovak-Americans to reconnect with their history and culture. 

Christine Metil, administrator of Pitt’s Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures and the director of the Slovak Heritage Festival, said: “Pittsburgh has the highest concentration of Slovak-Americans in the nation. This event draws many local citizens as well as visitors from surrounding states who wish to learn more and stay connected with their Slovak ethnic heritage.”

Festivities will get under way at 1 p.m. with a performance on the fujara overtone bass flute by Ben Sorensen, a specialist in Slovak folk music. The festival also will include dance and musical performances by the Slavjane Folk Ensemble, the Singing Revil’ak Family, and Jozef Ivaska, known in Slovakia as the “Man of a Thousand Songs,” among other local artists. CDs of featured acts will be available for purchase at the festival. 

Academic researchers and scholars will be featured in a series of lectures throughout the day. Notable speakers will include Lisa Alzo, a publications assistant at Cornell University, who will deliver a lecture titled “Researching Slovak Ancestors in the U.S. and Slovakia” at 1:15 p.m. in Room 239 of the Cathedral of Learning. Vladimír Burcík, a professor of computer and information systems at Robert Morris University, will deliver a lecture titled “Learning Slovak Online: Slovak Ministry of Education’s Projects for Slovak Americans” at 4:15 p.m. in Room 242 of the Cathedral of Learning. 

The festival will host vendors with merchandise from Slovakia and neighboring European countries. Food offerings will include haluski (pan-fried noodles and cabbage), holupki (stuffed cabbage), klobasa (sausage), and pirohi (a variant of Pierogi dumplings), among other authentic Slovakian dishes and pastries. 

For more information about the 22nd Annual Slovak Heritage Festival, contact Christine Metil at 412-624-5906 or slavic@pitt.edu. For a full schedule of activities and events for the festival, visit www.slavic.pitt.edu/documents/ScheduleofALLevemtsSlofest2012.pdf.

###

10/29/12/mab/cjhm