William Penn Life, 2008 (43. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2008-09-01 / 9. szám
Magyar Matters WPA helps keep Magyar traditions alive at Birmingham Ethnic Festival Spreading the word about the WPA at the Birmingham Ethnic Festival were (l-r) National Director Robert A. Ivancso, Jim Deak, Vice Chairman of the Board Barbara A. House, Sandy Stasko and National Director William J. Bern. by Robert A. Ivancso The 34th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival, "A Sunday in the Old Country", was held Aug. 17 in the Birmingham neighborhood of East Toledo, Ohio. Those that attended this year's festival were treated to a picture perfect day to enjoy all of the food and beverages that the vendors had to offer. The festival was dedicated to the Hungarian Club soccer teams. Many members of the teams were on the steps of St. Stephen's Church for the opening ceremonies, and others were seen in the cultural tent reminiscing about what it was like to be a player for the Club, winning championships and how many good times they had after a game at the Club. The cultural tent featured a display from the archives of the Hungarian Christmas play, including costumes that are worn for the play and a DVD which ran a video of the play for all to enjoy. The Rev. Imre Bertalan and Baba Ujvagi created a wonderful display of the Christmas play. Near the cultural tent stood the WPA tent. Helping guests learn more about the WPA were Vice Chairman of the Board Barbara A. House and her husband Tom; National Director William J. Bero; Jim Deak, vice president of Computer Specialties Corporation; Sandy Stasko; and Robert A. Ivancso, national director and festival vice-chairman. We missed National Vice President-Fraternal Endre Csornán and his wife Arlene. They could not attend as Endre was recovering from surgery. Our hard-working volunteers did a fine job representing the WPA and put smiles on the faces of many children by giving them free red, white and green balloons. It's a wonderful feeling when you see a child's eyes light up after giving them a balloon. All of the children and parents were patient considering we had a hard time keeping up with the demand for the balloons. Eventually, we would see a few of them floating off in the distance after a child let go of it. Maybe they came back for another one! We are pleased to report that we gave away all the balloons we had. Balloons were not the only item we shared. Many guests received copies of the WPA's new informational brochures. We also talked insurance with old and new friends and sold WPA cookbooks as well. We should have some new members due to the efforts of those at the cultural tent. The food and entertainment at the festival were great as usual. Our thanks to all those who worked hard to make this event another success. The 35th Annual Birmingham Ethnic Festival will be held on Aug. 16, 2009, which is the third Sunday of the month and the day Hungary traditionally observes St. Stephen's Day. For more information about the festival, please visit the festival, www.birminglmmethnicfestival.org. Hungarian Room Committee seeking applicants for two scholarships PITTSBURGH - The Hungarian Room Committee of the Nationality Rooms Program at the University of Pittsburgh is seeking applicants for two $3,500 scholarship grants. The grants are offered annually to students at the university to help defray expenses for summer studies abroad. Applicants must be either fulltime graduate or undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh who will be returning to the Oakland Campus in the fall for two consecutive semesters immediately following their foreign study experience. They must also have career goals with international components. They must have Hungarian language skills and the ability to study or conduct independent research abroad. They must also be able to travel abroad for five weeks in the summer. In addition, applicants must have a QPA of at least 3.0 and must have earned between 60 and 90 credits by the end of April 2009. Each applicant will also be required to propose a careerrelated, credit-worthy study or research program to take place in Hungary which will require at least five weeks of study or research in Hungary. All applications must be submitted by Jan. 14, 2009. For more information about the Hungarian Room scholarship program, please contact the Nationality Rooms office. Room 1209, Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. 1 1 William Penn Life, September 2008
