St. Sava's Serbian Historical Society honored Poet Jovan Ducic on the 70th Anniversary of his death. Guest speaker Rade Pejovic told of the lyric poet's early days and accomplishments, talents, and styles. Rev. Marko Matic introduced Mr. Pejovic along with Simeon Vasic, Jelena Milinovic, and Miodrag Djordjevic, who recited several of Ducic's famous poems. April 7, 2013 was exactly 70 years to the date when Jovan Ducic passed away in Gary, Indiana. His funeral was held at St. Sava Church on 13th & Connecticut Street. Please stop by to view the exhibit through the month of April in the south wing during fish fry Fridays and Sunday Luncheons.

Please join us for an exhibit and presentation during the Luncheon after Divine Liturgy on Sunday, April 7th. Mr. Radovan Pejovic, architect of our own St. Sava Church, will give a short and informative presentation about Serbian lyric poet Jovan Ducic on the 70th Anniversary of his death. Please join us for a delicious luncheon buffet and see the connection between St. Sava Gary and the famous poet. This event is presented by the Serbian Historical Society of St. Sava Church. Everyone is welcome!

In Eastern Christianity the icon is generally a flat panel painting depicting a holy being or object such as Christ, Mary, saints, angels, or the cross. These religious works of art adorn our churches and homes. Icons may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, done in mosaic or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Icons served many purposes in the Orthodox Church. A person can walk into an Orthodox Church and see the whole Bible story unfolded on its walls. Icons of Old and New Testament were used to teach the faithful about the Christian Faith. At this year's Serb Fest, the Serbian Historical Society presented an exhibit of unique Orthodox icons featuring the work of iconographer Drazen Dupor. Many individuals and local priests shared their personal favorites. Sisters from The Most Holy Mother of God Monastery in New Carlisle displayed their hand embroidered icons as well as a unique icon on silk from Japan. Young iconographer Steven Kozabarich showed a work-in-progress as well as a beautiful image of St. Demetrius. On the ceiling in the center of the room was an image of St. Elijah Cathedral's cupola (dome) that has recently been adorned with hand-painted frescoes. One part of the exhibit featured photos of all the Northwest Indiana Orthodox Churches as well as an icon on loan from each parish. Hundreds of Serb Fest guests enjoyed the exhibit daily. Special thanks to everyone who shared their precious icons; many of these were treasured family heirlooms. Sincere thanks also to Fr. Marko for his support and travels twice to Madison, Wisconsin to the Dupor Studio to pick up and return the large icons. Enjoy the video below: (To play in full screen, just start the video and click on the 4 arrows in the bottom right corner: click escape to return to this page at the end)

For just a short time, the Icon Art Exhibit "Images of Faith" will be open Sundays after Divine Liturgy in the north wing. Please take a moment to stop in and see the inspirational variety of icons from all over the Orthodox world - even Japan! Many churches, clergy, and individuals have shared their treasures for this exhibit. Featuring the works of iconographers Drazen Dupor and Steven Kozabarich, you'll be amazed at their talents. Several icons are offered for sale. You can also arrange for a group or private visit by contacting Dorothy (219) 462-0286 or Paul (219) 465-1795.

Join us today for live music by Drina from 1 to 6 and DJ Spaz for dancing from 5 to 9 pm. Be sure to stop by the fantastic Serbian Bakery and view the art exhibit "Images of Faith" in the north wing. Folklore Dancers will perform at 2:00 pm in front of the new Pavilion. Buy a chance to wind the $25,000 Grand Prize - BIG CASH RAFFLE. Everyone is welcome!

The brand new 3 Season Pavilion will offer comfortable dining - rain or shine. Hope to see you there.

Everyone's WELCOME!

Upon Milan Opacich's personal invitation, three generations of the Popovich family attended a private showing of "Tamburitza Spectacular". A section of this tambura exhibit was dedicated to the legendary Popovich Brothers, including a photo album containing hand-written personal notes and letters, comedic and political drawings, photos, and newspaper articles, many of which the family had never before seen. Milan's love, respect, and close friendship with Mikey, Adam, and Teddy triggered memories of the good times shared many years ago. On display are  Adam Popovich's drawings and wrought iron sculptures, Marko's (Mikey) hand carved miniatures, posters, and a collection of record albums. Adam's vest, worn to countless performances, weddings, and joyous occasions, is proudly displayed, on loan from the family.

Milan was 19 years old when he first met the Popovich Brothers on a night out with returning WWII veterans. They visited CLUB SELO in South Chicago, owned and operated by the Popovich family. The brothers played to a full house every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night on a corner stage. This is where Milan would court his lovely Roz, who later became his wife. Mikey, the prima player, came to Milan's house for the first time in 1974. Adam and Teddy showed up later. Every December 19, (Sveti Niloka - the Popovich family Slava) Adam, Teddy, and Eli brought bread to Milan's house and enjoyed coffee with Slivo added for dunking their bread. Milan played several occasions with the brothers and substituted for Adam when his wife was ill. When the Crljenica Brothers from California visited Milan's home, Adam hosted a party for them at his home. It was Mikey who first loaned photographs of tamburitza orchestras to Milan for preservation. All in all, this was not just a traditional friendship, but a friendship full of tradition. May their Memories Be Eternal!

If you've never known of the Popovich Brothers and their story, watch the documentary video hosted on Folk Streams The Popovich Brothers of South Chicago.

Pictured are standing, l to r, Stephanie Sims, Chris Ozment, Harry, Marco Glumac, Dan Glumac (holding Noah Bilgi). Middle row: Jim Kundrat, Natalie Peinovich, Melanie Ozment Evancevich, Elaine Glumac. Front row: Sarah Kundrat, Jackson Kundrat, Madeline Kundrat, Tina Bilgi, Sofia Bilgi.
Elaine and Melanie are the daughters of the late +Adam N. Popovich, and Natalie Peinovich is the daughter of the late +Ted N. Popovich.

Also visiting the exhibit during Serb Fest weekend were Sophie Popovich Ostoich (the only surviving sibling of the 10 Popovich's) along with her daughters, Ljubi Hayden, Martha Teshich, Ljubi's husband Bato Hayden, and Sophie's nephew Marco Trbovich and niece Vonnie Orlich, children of +Mila Popovich Trbovich.

Deacon Marko Bojovic from St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, Indianapolis, organized a day trip to Northwest Indiana this past Tuesday for Fr. Dragan Petrovic  and several parishioners. Their first stop was to see The Shrine of Christ's Passion in St. John and, of course, lunch at Bronko's, where host Nick Tarailo served up his signature pizza and chicken.

Milan Opacich was there to greet everyone and gave a brief presentation about his many vintage string instruments on display in the exhibit "Tamburitza Spectacular!". Nut rolls and cookies were served by Xenia and Roz as everyone relaxed before the church tour. Paul Jancarich played background music on the piano for a sing-along. The visitors left with a bundle of commemorative books for each family.

For many of our guests, it was their first visit to St. Sava Church, where Fr. Marko gave a detailed tour inside the church. Among the group was our dear Nena Popovich, who is truly missed. It was great to see her again! We enjoyed making new friends and look forward to visiting them in Indy one day soon. Special Thanks to Fr. Dragan and Deacon Marko for treating us to a wonderful afternoon with our new friends.

To complete their busy day, they stopped at Fair Oaks Dairy Farm on the way home.

THE GENIUS SPARK OF NIKOLA TESLA, presented by The Chicago Council on Science and Technology in partnership with the Belgrade Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, can be viewed daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Navy Pier. Staffed by volunteers, you'll have plenty to read in Serbian and English. Replicas of several inventions are also on display. Several members of St. Sava's Serbian Historical Society, along with Fr. Marko, made the short trip to Chicago to view this wonderful exhibit. Special Thanks to volunteers Jovan Ignjatovic and Tanja Barac for the demonstrations of several invention models. Thanks also to the many corporate and personal sponsors, among them Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Chabraja, Kathy Fanslow and Lifeline Humanitarian Organization, and many others.

Visit http://www.teslaexhibitchicago.com for more info.

Serb Fest relies solely on the army of volunteers who spend months planning, organizing, selling tickets, baking, and preparing for the 3 day event. Some church members even take unpaid time off from work to help out. Many of these volunteers are not pictured below, but our sincere THANKS and appreciation goes out to anyone who helped in any capacity. Whether you're a palachinka princess, krofne queen, or lamb roaster, it seems that working for a common goal among your Serbian friends can be lots of fun.

Live background music is performed at Saturday's music tent by "Srpski Sinovi".

Thanks also to Borka Grimsgard for sharing some of the photos below.

Do you really think you can keep Serbs from celebrating? The food kept coming, the bar kept serving, and we got just a little wet early Sunday evening.  Grilling volunteers used their strengths to hold down tents. Mother Nature can't ruin our fun! We won't be inviting her next year. Seriously, "Ako Bog Da", we'll have a new Four Seasons Building built in time for next year's Serb Fest, so rain will never again be a problem. Borka Grimsgard, always a good sport, looked lovely in her fashionable rain bonnet.

Today's hours are from Noon to 9:00 p.m., so this is your last chance to enjoy the food, music, and fun. Be sure to visit the Tamburitza Spectacular historical exhibit in the north wing. Tonight's highlight will be the BIG CASH RAFFLE Drawing for several prizes, including the $25,000 Grand Prize, plus the Smithsonian Prima made by Milan Opacich.

Pictured above are veteran tamburasi George Tatalovich, Wally Pravica, and Milan Opacich in the Serbian Historical Society's exhibit "Tambura Spectacular!"

Lucky Gordon Gerbick would like to sell you that winning raffle ticket, so what's his secret?.....Must be that hat!

New hours:

FRIDAY 4 - Midnight

SATURDAY - Noon to Midnight

SUNDAY - Noon to 9 pm

In case you missed it, a brief story highlighting "Tamburitza Spectacular", this year's Serbian Historical Society's  exhibit of vintage string instruments, was shown on the evening news on Lakeshore Public Television CHANNEL 17 Wednesday at 9:00 p.m.. News anchor Jodi Juhl interviewed Milan Opacich about this display of historical string instruments. Be sure to enjoy the exhibit while you visit Serb Fest.

Enjoy the sights and sounds from this year's Serb Fest. Join us next year as we host another fun weekend. Thanks to "Prazna Flasa" for providing background music.

No wonder the food was so good.

Leave it to this group to make work so much fun that you'll want to work the food tent next year. They serve.......they sing.......they dance........who knew?

Three choirs from Merrillville and South Bend decided to join together and perform for this year's "One Love Serbian Song" Festival in Chicago during Memorial Day weekend. They had so much fun practicing and performing together, so they decided to stay together and continue performing as a group. The  dining crowd at St. Sava's Serb Fest was treated to a casual performance. Milan Medich directs, and Nick Sever, Steve Baroevich, Dan Orlich, and Mike Jaksich have all volunteered their time for this choir. Many new friendships have resulted from this effort. Membership is open. Contact your church choir director for details.

In spite of the intense heat, all 3 folklore groups entertained the crowd in full costume on Serb Fest Saturday. Several dancers were missing because of family vacations planned, and they had no formal practice all summer. Thanks to all the dancers for a great show and special treat!

Our sincere Thanks and appreciation are extended to everyone who visited this year's Serb Fest. It was our pleasure to serve you. We hope you had a great time and enjoyed the Serbian food, entertainment, and live music. Your support will help fund future improvements and building on our church property.

Check back daily for photos, videos, and a listing of our golf sponsors, all local businesses that need our support.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR! ZIVELI!

Serb Fest Sunday will be full of non - stop music, dancing, and great food: cevaps, lamb, pig, raznicici, palachinke, and strudel. All this with a background of wonderful live Serbian music. You can even dance off those calories and start all over again. At 5:00 pm, the combined choirs of St. Sava and St. Elijah in Merrillville along with St. Peter & Paul from South Bend will perform a medley of Serbian Folk Songs, accompanied by tamburitza musicians. You won't want to miss this performance. Visit the historical exhibit in the north wing, featuring the Serbian Sisters Circle and Serbs in Sports. Bring the kids, there are plenty of activities for all age groups. Sunday Hours: Noon to 10 pm.

BIG CASH RAFFLE TICKETS can be purchased for the $25,000 Grand Prize, Total $50,000 Pay Out Raffle. Purchase tickets from any church member or at the food ticket tents for $100. We're very happy to see that Lucky Gordon Gerbick broke out of the hospital just in time to sell you a winning ticket wearing his lucky hat. Pictured below are National Treasures Gordon Gerbick and his buddy Milan Opacich. Visit Milan today in the north wing exhibit room (museum).

Saturday hours are from noon to midnight, so come spend a few hours relaxing with us. Enjoy live Serbian music and come hungry, we're well prepared to offer up some great Serbian specialties. There's something new this year: St. Sava Folklore Group 'Srbadija' will perform traditional dances in full costume at 5:00 pm. Church Tours schedule will be announced. The Serbian Bakery has  palachinke, strudels, and assorted pastries to satisfy your sweet tooth. Exhibits honoring our hard - working Serbian Sisters Circle (Kolo),  Serbian athletes, Mile Kosanovich, Karl Malden, and our music can be seen in the North Wing from noon to 10 pm. Please join us, everyone's welcome!

Little Lukie Hayden accompanied "Prazna Flasa" Friday and received his first $1 tip. The boys in the band want him to join them, but he'll just start his own band Prazna Drink Box. Just wait til you see the video!

This year's theme was "Immigrants, Serbs of Steel", telling the story of hard - working immigrants who labored in the dangerous steel mills from the early 1900's to the present day. The Serbian immigrants helped build Northwest Indiana's steel mills, industries, and towns. They brought their religion, language, music, customs, and traditions to America, and have maintained all these through the church. Some of the families featured have been in America for 4 generations. Others came as refugees after WWII, some as Chetniks forced to leave behind everything they fought to protect. Several members were born in post - WWII refugee camps. Many classic stories are told through photographs and keepsakes on display. If you've never been to a steel mill, you'll leave with a greater appreciation for the dangerous conditions and how hard our church members worked to earn the funds that built and financed our church. Also on display is a document that lists all the US Steel workers who lost their lives while at work. The graphic descriptions remind us of the risks taken by the steel workers. Many Serbs are among those listed in this document.

On Sunday, August 2nd, co - authors Stephen McShane and Gary Wilks (Steel Giants) shared  their research about the early immigrants' contributions to northwest Indiana's steel industries.  Nick Tarailo (Bronko's Restaurant) spoke of the stories his grandfather  shared about the early days in Gary. This program was funded by the Indiana Humanities Council in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A memorial tribute to Karl Malden, St. Sava's own Mladen Sekulovich, is on display as well. He was the son of immigrants and worked in the steel mills for a short time.  During his youth, he participated in church plays and was a member of the choir. He was very proud of his Serbian heritage and was a great benefactor of St. Sava Church.

You will be able to visit the exhibit every Sunday after church, or call ahead to arrange a special showing. Call the church office (219) 736-9191 or (219) 613-6133.

The Serbian Historical Society would like to THANK all the families who participated in this group effort. They loaned or donated special keepsakes, documents, and photographs for this exhibit. Thanks also to Fr. Marko, Dennis, and the Church Board for their continued support.

Please attend Divine Liturgy and 40 Day Parastos for Mladen Sekulovich, actor Karl Malden. You can also visit the exhibit presented by the Serbian Historical Society in the north wing after services. For all the volunteers who didn't get a chance to view the exhibit during Serb Fest, this is your last chance to see the complete collection of Milan Opacich's vintage tamburas. The rest of the exhibit will remain for several weeks. This year's theme is "Immigrants, Serbs of Steel", plus a tribute to Karl Malden.

Yes, Serb Fest now has a commercial!

Send this to all your Serbian friends and relatives, to friends who know Serbs, and to those who wish they were Serbs...........That's just about everyone, isn't it?

• To send this blog:

• Click on the blog title (permanent link)

• Copy the URL, paste it an email, and send to to all your friends.

Be sure to stop by and see all the wonderful pictures and collection of articles on display in the north wing Cultural Display Room. Four generations of Serbian weddings are displayed and you will see how little our traditions have changed. Danica Bikoff's satin gown from 1943 is on display as well as Manda Andrejich's bridal gown from 1952. George and Smelia Mitrovich's cake top from 1938 is also on loan from Paul and Xenia Jancarich. The room will be open Sundays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. It's not too late to turn in photos because we'll be adding to our collection for next year's exhibit. If you would like to make special arrangements to see the exhibit at any other time, please call Dorothy at (219) 613-6133.

Sunday, July 5th is the last day for viewing this exhibit. The Serbian Historical Society will need some time to prepare the room for Serb Fest. This year's theme will be "Immigrants - Serbs in the Steel Mills".

Special Thanks to Orkestar Junaci from Pittsburgh for permission to use their music for our slide show video.

The Serbian Historical Society would like to include wedding photos from several generations in our upcoming exhibit: "Serbian Wedding Traditions". Everyone is invited to send us 8X10 sized copies of your own wedding, your parents, grandparents, and friends. Photos can be from any country, taken in an Orthodox Church, any parish, a studio, refugee camp, or a village. Send us several if you like. You may have a favorite scene that tells a special story. Please send the complete description for each photo on a separate sheet of paper. Also include the date, the name of the couple, church, priest, kumovi, attendants, and your own name and phone number. We will announce the date when the exhibit is complete, and will show the exhibit on this website. The photos will be identified for display.

Please send the photos to: St. Sava Church, Serbian Historical Society, 9191 Mississippi St., Merillville, IN 46410. For more information, please call Dorothy at (219) 613-6133.

Be sure to visit the exhibit "Serbian Christmas Traditions" now on display in the north wing Cultural Center. St. Sava's Serbian Historical Society is sponsoring this colorful themed arrangement celebrating our unique customs. The Badnjak, Chesnica, straw, wheat, fruits and nuts are all part of our traditions. Milan and Roz Opacich have provided their personal collection of miniature musical instruments that adorn the Christmas trees as well as a collection of SERB WORLD U.S.A. Magazines that feature holiday stories of interest. The Sunday School children were especially fascinated by the upside-down Christmas tree adorned with fruit, nuts, and badnjak branches. A selection of ornaments, icons, and books are available for purchase. Visit every Sunday from 9:30a.m. until 2:00 p.m., extended hours on Badnje Vece from 5:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., and 9:30 a.m. until 12:30 on Christmas Day. Bring the whole family and your friends to share our wonderful traditions. Don't forget your cameras!

(Click photo to enlarge)

Bishop Peter Bankerovich served St. Sava in Gary, Indiana from 1963 until 1970. In honor of his 20 year Parastos, the Serbian Historical Society presented a large exhibit of photographs and items from his personal collection, donated by Father Tom Kazich. His spiritual life and travels were remarkable. We are extremely grateful to Father Tom for sharing these special keepsakes that will be preserved for generations. The display was viewed by hundreds for three weeks in the south wing social center. May his memory be eternal. (Click photo to enlarge)

The Serbian Historical Society put on a large display during Serb Fest, featuring many popular themes. Serbs in the U. S. Armed Forces, Serbs as Chetniks, Serbs in Sports, St. Varnava, St. Sava Church Old and New, Nikola Tesla, and many other themes filled the large room in the north wing. Hundreds viewed the exhibit each day, and even returned several times to take in more information. This is the third year that Serb Fest has hosted a cultural display, and has become unique to St. Sava Church. The Serbian Historical Society would like to Thank everyone who has donated or loaned items and photos of interest to their collection. In the future, you will see many more themed exhibits. (Click photos to enlarge)