Fraternity-Testvériség, 2003 (81. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

2003-07-01 / 3. szám

FRATERNITY

Page 13

Rain Sends Hungarian Fest Activities Indoors

Organizers of the Hungarian Festival in New Brunswick, New Jersey, had been blessed with good weather

for 27 years. On Saturday, June 7,h of this year, their luck ran out.

Rain prevented vendors from selling their wares along Somerset Street during the annual event, which is sponsored by the Hungarian Civic Association. “Other activities, including a twilight concert featuring opera music, were

moved indoors,” said Patricia Fazekas, curator of the Museum of the American Hungarian Foundation. The festival usually draws approximately 10,000 people. “We still seem to be getting a good crowd of people, but not quite as many as on a sunny day,” she said.

The Hungarian Civic Association comprised of churches and local organizations, hosts activities and events to foster community pride. The history of Hungarian culture in the city dates back to the 1880’s when immigrants arrived to take jobs with Johnson & Johnson and Potters Needle Factory. At one time, Hungarian merchants were clustered along French Street. While some institutions have lasted - the Hungarian American Athletic Club marked its 90th anniversary this year - the number of volunteers to plan the festival has decreased.

The Hungarian Reformed Federation of America and the Bethlen Home shared an informational booth in the sheltered basement of the Magyar Reformed Church of New Brunswick.

Abridged from Home News Tribune, New Brunswick, New Jersey, Raven Hill, staff writer

L. to r.: Rev. Stefan M. Torok, President/ CEO, Teri Pflum, National Fraternal Coordinator, Magdalene J. Ujvagi and Edith Szép, Bethlen Home Cultural Center. Standing in the back, 1. to r.: Rev. Leslie E. Martin, Vice Chairman, and George Dózsa, Chairman.

The 29th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival

With a flurry of embroidered skirts and fiddle strings on a fine summer day, the 29th annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival cascaded down Consaul Street in East Toledo.

Stands of food and crafts from Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Italy, and even Mexico dotted the street where thousands of fairgoers strolled.

Spectators stopped occasionally at off-road lots to take in dazzling displays of ethnicity: dozens of folk dancers, from 6 to 60 years old, skipping and jumping in embroidered skirts and black hats and boots to traditional folk tunes from Eastern Europe.

Twenty-nine years ago, the East Toledo residents of Birmingham pulled together under the direction of the Rev. Martin Hemady of St. Stephen’s Church to save the neighborhood from a four-lane overpass.

Now the residents just get together to eat, dance, eat, buy crafts, and eat. It happens every year on the third Sunday of August, otherwise known as Saint Stephen’s Day, the Hungarian holiday named after the country’s king.

From Hungarian sausage to chicken paprikás to poppy seed cake, aromas tempted Birmingham travelers as they browsed stands of candles, beads, and blankets. They could also take home a bag of homemade noodles or an assortment of homemade pastries from one of the neighborhood’s church-related bake stands.

Sales of some of the crafts go to support the Szeged Arts Center in Toledo’s Hungarian sister city, Szeged, chosen because the Tisza River runs through it, similar to Toledo’s Maumee River.

Special emphasis was placed this year on commemorating Calvin United Church, which is celebrating its 100th year in the neighborhood.

State Rep. Peter Ujvagi, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1957, presided as master of ceremonies. Mayor Jack Ford, Toledo City Council members Francis Szollosi, Bob McCloskey, and Karyn McConnell, and other public officials were among the estimated 40,000 attendees.

Abridgedfrom Second News, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

HRFA and Bethlen Home represented at the Birmingham Festival by Helen Szabó, Branch Manager/Area Fraternal Coordinator, William B. Puskas, CFO, and Rev. Imre A. Bertalan, Executive Director.