Well organized, extremely well attended and great fun! Even God was merciful the weather was perfect! Boba ====
http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=594 306&catname=Local%20News&classif= NIAGARA FALLS REVIEW LOCAL NEWS Monday, July 02, 2007 'I always go to Serbian Day' Annual cultural festival draws close to 10,000 to church grounds MELISSA CHURLY Local News - Monday, July 02, 2007 Updated @ 6:33:41 AM Susan Mirkovic has lots of memories of going to the annual Serbian Picnic when she was a child. This year, she brought her own children. The Oakville mother of two marked Serbian Day with her family at the 62nd annual Serbian Day Picnic Sunday. The celebrations, held at the Saints George and Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church grounds on Montrose Road, coincided with Canada Day and attracted Serbians from all over North America. Organizers expected the picnic, which started Friday and went into last night, to attract close to 10,000 people. "I'm Canadian as well, Canadian-born, so it's great to be able to celebrate both events together on the same day," said Mirkovic. She said she enjoyed watching her children having fun playing with their friends the way she did when she little. "Now, I'm bringing my own kids here so it's great to see them experience all the dancing and music and culture going on here. " Mirkovic said the picnic is also an opportunity to reunite with family and friends who live in other cities. "I get to see family who come from the States or live further away. You see so many people you don't get to see all the time. It's terrific." There was plenty of traditional Serbian music and dancing, sports events and vendors selling all kinds of merchandise including CDs, jewelry, shoes and food. Acin Mandres took the opportunity to play music with some of the visiting Serbian musicians. Mandres and Milorad Kukic played the frula, a small wooden instrument that resembles a flute. Kukic is part of a folk dancing group who travelled from Novi Sad, Serbia for the weekend's events. "I've been playing since I was six years old," said Mandres. "It was really nice to play with them." Besides the music and dancing, there were several guest speakers who helped kick off the celebrations Sunday including Mayor Ted Salci and MPP Rob Nicholson. "When my staff was putting together my schedule for today, they said 'Unfortunately your schedule is not going to allow you to be at Serbian Day.' I told them, 'I don't think so. I always go to Serbian Day,' and we had another look at that schedule" said Nicholson. Nicholson said celebrating with the Serbian community is important to him and although he had to leave early to attend other Canada Day events, he told picnickers that he appreciated their contributions and supports them. "I know the struggles that you have been in and I know the struggle must continue." Another keynote speaker was former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, James Bissett. He told the crowd about his recent trip to Israel and Italy. "We had some very successful meetings there. We found in Israel a very deep understanding of what is going on in the Balkans." He condemned American politicians who are supporting the Muslims in Kosovo, pushing hard to take away 15 per cent of Serbia's territory and give it to the Albanians. "There is civil war, violence and bloodshed so why is the American government doing this?" he asked. Bissett also talked about his visit to Kosovo in December. "I saw for myself the dreadful situation of your Serbian compatriots in Kosovo. They are living in ghettos - and living in ghettos in the 21st century is shameful," he said. Bissett's speech received a standing ovation from the crowd. Canadian military journalist, author and occasional Review columnist Scott Taylor and artist Les Drysdale made speeches as well. Sent using cyberus.ca WebMail - http://www.cyberus.ca/
