February 7, 2010

We send our sincere condolences to the family of Jonas Dunduras, who passed away on Friday at the age of 86, after a battle with cancer. Jonas Dunduras was an intellectual and world traveler, who is survived by his wife Danute and son Andris. He was a close friend of many people, including his sister-in-law and brother-in-law Grazina and Vladas Pleckaitis. The funeral mass for Jonas Dunduras will be next Saturday, February 13th at 11:00 at St. Casimir. Burial will be in the family plot in Florida.

Congratulations to Dr. Linas Vaitkus who has recently become board certified in the field of Sleep Medicine, which covers insomnia, sleep apnea, and other sleep disturbances. The board exam is notoriously difficult, with only about 50% of doctors who attempt the test getting a passing score. Dr. Vaitkus distinguished himself by placing in the top 8% of all test takers. He also holds board certifications in pulmonary medicine, internal medicine and critical care medicine.

The dancers, parents and leaders of Svyturys would like to thank all who turned out last Saturday evening for their Beach Party fundraiser. Svyturys director Ausrine Sirvinskas says the event was a great success thanks to you. The money raised will help defray expenses associated with the upcoming Juventus dance festival which will be held right here in Cleveland on April 24th. Juventus will feature dancers from Cleveland, Chicago and Toronto, performing in the St. Casimir auditorium.

You are invited to attend the Cleveland celebration of Lithuania's Independence on Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, February 21.

On Saturday, February 20 at 7:30 pm, the celebration kicks off with a dance party at Lithuanian Village with a special DJ from the Chicago dance group Suktinis who will spin your favorite tunes.

And then on Sunday, February 21st, the celebration and commemoration begins at 8:00 am right here on Tevynes Garsai, and continues with flag raising at 9:45 am at the Freedom monument on the grounds of St. Casimir Parish.

10:00 a.m. Mass at St. Casimir Parish will feature special music by Exultate, and Lithuanian-American organizations are invited to attend with their flags.

Following mass at 11:00 a.m. in the lower hall at St. Casimir, you're invited to stay for lunch, and then head upstairs at 1:00 pm for the main event, which will feature Vytas Maaciunas, president of the Lithuanian-American Community-USA.

After the official portion of the program, the Suktinis Lithuanian folk dancers from Chicago will entertain, along with poetry by Ona Zalensas and musical entertainment by Eugenijus Dicevicius.

On Sunday, February 21st. the Neff Road parking lot at St. Casimir will be closed after 8:00 mass, and reopen after 10:00 mass. The parking lot will be reserved during this time for those participating in the Independence Day flag-raising ceremony on Sunday, February 21st.

Next Sunday, WCJU will kick off its 2010 Radiothon fundraising campaign. We'll be live in the studio with our volunteers, Nijole Palubinskas, Romas Zorska, and Zivile Vaitkus asking for your support for WJCU. The phone number to call next Sunday will be 216-397-4438, or you can donate in person after 10:00 mass at St. Casimir.

We want to thank Father Bacevice for his generosity in allowing us to collect Radiothon contributions at the parish, and for the announcement that appears in this Sunday's bulletin.

Opera fans will want to tune in to WVIZ PBS Channel 25 at 4:00 pm on Sunday, February 28th, when Violeta Urmana will star in the broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera production of Aida.

Zaibas will hold its annual Hall of Fame induction and Night at the Races event on Saturday, March 6th at Recher Slovenian Hall in Euclid.