Sunday, April 25, 2010

April 25, 2010

First up this morning, congratulations to Svyturys and their leaders Ausrine and Ricardas Sirvinskas on a huge success with Juventus last night at St. Casimir. Three hundred attendees enjoyed a fantastic performance of Lithuanian folk dancing by Spindulys, Gintaras, Grandis and Svturys, followed by a wonderful meal courtesy of Europa. The young and young at heart danced the night away after dinner to music provided by DJ Eugenijius Dicevicius.

Juventus 2010 came off without a hitch, thanks to the hard work of a small army of Cleveland Lithuanians, who coordinated food, music and a hundred other details to perfection. They made it all look very easy, and that's a sign of a well-run event. Special thanks to Juventus 2010 committee members Ausrine and Ricardas Sirvinskas, Beate Ciurlionis, Marius Juodisius, Virginija Rubinski, Jonas Totoraitis, and Darius Stansiskis.

We send a special welcome to all the dancers, directors and chaperones who are visiting Cleveland this weekend from Toronto and Chicago. I hope you're enjoying your stay here in Cleveland, and we wish you safe travels home this afternoon.

This morning, 10:00 mass at St. Casimir
will celebrate the feast of St. George, the patron saint of Scouts.The Cleveland Lithuanian Scouts will have a special role in this morning's liturgy.

The Lithuanian Franciscans are building a cancer support center in Lithuania. A delegation of Franciscan fathers was recently in Cleveland to see how we do things here, and to ask for financial support for their project. Beginning this weekend through May 23rd, you're asked to make a donation to this cause via St. Casimir. You can make your check payable to St. Casimir, and place it in an envelope marked "Lithuanian Cancer Center".

Next weekend, May 1st and 2nd, the LAUNA Games will be held in Cleveland. The buffet will be open at Lithuanian Village from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm in the Gintaras Dining Room The sports events wrap up at 5:00 pm, and at 8:00 pm Romas Dambrauskas will perform in the upstairs hall at Lithuanian Village. Following the Dambrauskas concert there will be dance music from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am courtesy of DJ Eugenijus Dicevicius.


Mothers Day is coming soon, and in Lithuania, it is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of May, which falls on May 2nd this year. So on Sunday, May 2nd, the singers of Naujoji Intriga invite you to honor mothers, grandmothers, godmothers with a special spring Lithuanian Mothers Day brunch in the hall after 10:00 am Mass. You'll have a chance to feast on special foods prepared by Naujoji Intriga as well as hear them perform beautiful songs dedicated to the honored guests, and will present all moms with a spring blossom.


If you can't make it to the brunch, the singers will be glad to pack you a “brunch in a box” to take to your mom to help you celebrate the day. Proceeds from this event will help the group defray some of the expenses at the Dainu Svente this July.


And on Sunday, May 9th, the traditional American celebration of Mother's Day will take place with a special buffet from 12 noon to 2:00 pm at Lithuanian Village. Reserve your family table by Thursday, May 6th.


The Lithuanian Catholic Organization Ateitis was founded 100 years ago in Europe with the goal of promoting Catholic culture among college students. Today, its membership encompasses all age groups and the group has chapters throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. On Sunday, May 9th at 11:15 am, the Cleveland Ateitininkinai will hold their yearly meeting in the upper hall at St. Casimir Parish. Members will renew their pledges and listen to keynote speaker Lukas Laniauskas, S.J. The program will be conducted in the Lithuanian language.

Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek invites you to the official groundbreaking for the Collinwood Community and Recreation Center, Saturday, May 15th at 10:00. The new rec center will be located at 16500 Lakeshore Boulevard. This project has been on the drawing board for many years, and it's great to see it finally moving forward.

Don't forget that the Academic Scouts Filisterai will present soprano Virginija Muliolis and pianist Michael Borowitz in the upper hall at St. Casimir on Saturday, June 5th.

Now, on a personal and programming note, you may have heard Aldona mention during her Cleveland News update, that Tevynes Garsai, the Lithuanian Voice will cease broadcasting permanently next month. After more than 60 years on the air, and more than 22 years on WJCU, our last show will be Sunday May 9th.

This coming Tuesday, April 27th, WJCU will hold its annual awards banquet, and Aldona will be honored for her 18 years of service to John Carroll University radio.

We'll talk more about this next Sunday, and of course during our final broadcast on the 9th, but for the moment let me just make a couple comments on this subject.

It goes without saying that that is a decision not taken lightly. Aldona made this decision after a great deal of thought and reflection, and I support her decision 100%.

The natural question on peoples' minds anytime we deal with a major change such as this is "why?" There are many factors that go into a decision such as this, but I think the best way to sum it up is to simply say, "It's time."

The second question you're probably asking is "will there be a new Lithuanian radio program on Sunday morning?" The answer to that question is that no one knows the answer to that question yet. Tevynes Garsai has enjoyed a great relationship with WJCU for over 22 years. I know that WJCU station manager Mark Krieger is open to the idea of a continuing Lithuanian presence on this station's Sunday morning schedule.

I know there are many smart and talented people in the Cleveland Lithuanian community who would be good candidates to host a weekly radio program. Radio broadcasting is very rewarding, and also a good bit more difficult than it looks from a listener's perspective.
So we will see what the future brings.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

April 18, 2010

Congratulations to Dalia Zemaityte, who was recently honored with the 2010 Judson Smart Living Award for Healthcare. For more information, check out judsonsmartliving.org.

This afternoon at 3:00 pm
Lithuanian Village will host a special 100th Birthday Party for Domicele Sirvaitis who turned 100 on April 5th. Ilgausiu Metu, Ponia Sirvaitiene.


Tomorrow, April 19th, from 4:30-8:00 pm, Lithuanian Village will host a Celebration of Life for Birute Bruzas in the Gintaras Dining Room. Our deepest sympathy to Club members Joseph and Tony Bruzas on the loss of their mother this past week.


The St. Casimir Parish Steering Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 20th at 7:30 pm in the rectory conference room.


Juventus is next Saturday, April 24th, and Cleveland's Svyturys is preparing to welcome 168 dancers from Toronto, Chicago, Lemont, performing both traditional and new Lithuanian folk dances. The dance performance will be followed by dinner catered by Europa. The evening concludes with dance music courtesy of DJ Eugenius Dicevicius. There are only a few tickets remaining, and you can get yours from Ricardas Sirvinskas after mass today at St. Casimir.


A word to the wise for St. Casimir parishioners next weekend: arrive early for weekend masses, and be prepared for a bit of a walk to get to church. Several hundred people will gather at St. Casimir next Saturday evening for Juventus, and on Sunday morning for an 8:15 breakfast and 10:00 mass. Buses for the dancers will be parked off-site and police will be on hand to direct traffic, but your patience would be a big help as well.

The Lithuanian Franciscans are building a cancer support center in Lithuania. A delegation of Franciscan fathers was recently in Cleveland to see how we do things here, and to ask for financial support for their project. Beginning next weekend through May 23rd, you're asked to make a donation to this cause via St. Casimir. You can make your check payable to St. Casimir, and place it in an envelope marked "Lithuanian Cancer Center".

On the weekend of May 1st and 2nd, the LAUNA Games will be held in Cleveland. The buffet will be open at Lithuanian Village from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm in the Gintaras Dining Room The sports events wrap up at 5:00 pm, and at 8:00 pm Romas Dambrauskas will perform in the upstairs hall at Lithuanian Village. Following the Dambrauskas concert there will be dance music from 10:00 pm to 1:00 am courtesy of DJ Eugenijus Dicevicius.


Mothers Day is coming soon, and in Lithuania, it is traditionally celebrated on the first Sunday of May, which falls on May 2nd this year. So on Sunday, May 2nd, the singers of Naujoji Intriga invite you to honor mothers, grandmothers, godmothers with a special spring Lithuanian Mothers Day brunch in the hall after 10:00 am Mass. You'll have a chance to feast on special foods prepared by Naujoji Intriga as well as hear them perform beautiful songs dedicated to the honored guests, and will present all moms with a spring blossom.


If you can't make it to the brunch, the singers will be glad to pack you a “brunch in a box” to take to your mom to help you celebrate the day. Proceeds from this event will help the group defray some of the group expenses at the Dainu Svente this July.


And on Sunday, May 9th, the traditional American celebration of Mother's Day will take place with a special buffet from 12 noon to 2:00 pm at Lithuanian Village. Reserve your family table by Thursday, May 6th.


Two members of the Vaitkus family are exhibiting their photographs in area shows this spring. Dr. Linas Vaitkus is showing his black and white photography in the Physician Art Show at Southwest General Health Center in Middleburgh Heights. That show runs now through May 1st.


Linas Petras Vaitkus, a senior at Cleveland State University, has had his photographs accepted to the 39th Annual Student Art Show. The show is at the CSU Art Gallery, located at 2307 Chester Avenue, and runs now through May 8th.


Don't forget that the Academic Scouts Filisterai will present soprano Virginija Muliolis and pianist Michael Borowitz in the upper hall at St. Casimir on Saturday, June 5th.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

April 11, 2010

We send our condolences to the family of Vincent P. Taraska, who passed away on April 5th at Hospice House in Cleveland. He was 94 years old.

Vincent P. Taraska was born in Lithuania, lived in Alberta, Canada and Cleveland before moving to Wickliffe 43 years ago.


Funeral services were held yesterday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Wickliffe.


As you've no doubt read or heard, Polish President Lech Kaczynski
and his wife, along with most of the country's top military leaders were killed in a plane crash in Russia on Saturday. We also send our sympathies to the Polish people, including Poles and those of Polish heritage here in northeast Ohio. This is a national and international tragedy of unimaginable proportions.


On a brighter note, Father Joseph Bacevicius
celebrated a milestone birthday this past Thursday. It's one of those birthdays that ends in a zero, and I'll leave to your imagination as to which one. In any event, we send our best birthday wishes to the pastor of St. Casimir church, Father Joseph Bacevicius.


Last night's planned concert by soprano Virginija Bruozyte Muliolis
has been postponed until June 5th due to illness. We wish Virginija a speedy recovery.


This morning Vaiko Vartai i Moksla
invites everyone to lunch, served immediately after 10 o'clock Mass in St. Casimir’s Parish lower hall. “Child’s Gate to Learning” works with neglected and abused children in Lithuania. It has established 10 after school centers, where children can come and spend a few hours each day. Proceeds from lunch today will benefit these after-school centers.


Also today, the traditional Children's Easter
will be held after 10:00 am mass in the lower at St. Casimir. All pre-school age children are invited to this fun event.


The St. Casimir Parish Steering Committee
will meet on Tuesday, April 20th at 7:30 pm in the rectory conference room. Minutes from the last meeting will be sent to committee members this week.


Juventus is only a few weeks away, on April 24th.
This event will feature 168 dancers from Toronto, Chicago, Lemont, and of course our own Svyturys from right here in Cleveland, performing both traditional and new Lithuanian folk dances. The dance performance will be followed by dinner catered by Europa. The evening concludes with an opportunity for you to get out on the dance floor. Tickets and information are available by calling Ricardas Sirvinskas at
440-749-2121.

Romas Dambrauskas
will perform at Lithuanian Village on Saturday, May 1st, as part of the LAUNA Games which will be going on in Cleveland that weekend.

Two members of the Vaitkus family
will be exhibiting their photographs in area shows this spring. Dr. Linas Vaitkus is showing his black and white photography in the Physician Art Show at Southwest General Health Center in Middleburgh Heights. That show runs now through May 1st.


Linas Petras Vaitkus, a senior at Cleveland State University, has had his photographs accepted to the 39th Annual Student Art Show. The show is at the CSU Art Gallery, located at 2307 Chester Avenue, and runs now through May 8th.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

April 4, 2010

Congratulations to Vincas Apanius who last week celebrated his 95th birthday. Ilgausiu Metu Ponas Apanius, we all wish many happy returns for you, and that we would be so healthy and long-lived as you.

Don't forget that there is no 10:00 am mass at St. Casimir this morning. Your last remaining opportunity to participate in Easter liturgy at St. Casimir is at 12 noon today. The Easter flowers decorating St. Casimir's this weekend were donated by the family of Birute Vedegys in her memory.


A part of the main altar from St. George church recently found a new home at St. Bartholomew Anglican Church in Woodinville, Washington. Upon learning of the altar's origin, Father Robert T. Davis, rector of St. Bart's reached out to both the greater Seattle Lithuanian community, and to former members of St. George parish here in Cleveland. In several emails and blog postings this week, Father Davis enthusiastically embraced and honored the altar's history as part of the oldest Lithuanian church in the United States. He even celebrated Palm Sunday services wearing a stole embroidered in the traditional Lithuanian style, and he's from Texas. Davis says the welcome mat is always out for Cleveland Lithuanians who find themselves in the Seattle area.


In order to fully appreciate this story, you have to understand that once a church closes, its sacred art, artifacts and furnishings basically become commodities in the market of religious supplies. An outside company safeguards the items, and sells them on behalf of the Cleveland diocese in this case. Churches like St. Bart's browse the available items and select an altar like you or I would buy a new sofa for the living room: based on size, style, color and price.


It says a lot about both St. Bart's and St. George's when we see Fr. Davis not only notice the heritage and history of his church's new altar, but celebrate it in such a public way, and the parishioners of the former St. George church to respond so positively, even as they see parts of their beloved church turning up in new and unexpected places.


This is a bit like the family and friends of an organ donor, who can find comfort in the fact that even though their loved one is no longer with them, his or her heart, liver, and kidneys help give life to others in need.


For the complete story, including photos of the altar in its new home, please visit
http://continuinghome.blogspot.com/.

Another part of the St. George altar is on its way to a seminary in Indianapolis, Indiana.


Next Saturday is the date for the Welcoming Spring concert
presented by soprano Virginija Bruozyte Muliolis. The concert will take place at the St. Casimir auditorium and is presented by the Cleveland Lithuanian Academic Scouts Filisterai. Virginija will be accompanied on piano by Michael Borowitz, and together they'll perform works by Schubert, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Dvorak, Puccini, Rachmaninoff, Lerner & Lowe, and others. The concert starts at 7:00 pm and tickets and information are available by calling 216-631-2010.


On Sunday, April 11th, the organization Vaiko Vartai i Moksla
invites everyone to lunch, served immediately after 10 o'clock Mass in St. Casimir’s Parish lower hall. “Child’s Gate to Learning” works with neglected and abused children in Lithuania. It has established 10 after school centers, where children can come and spend a few hours each day. The children get help with their homework, are taught good behavior, and are able to spend a small part of their day in a normal and loving environment. Proceeds from the lunch will benefit these after-school centers.


Also on Sunday April 11th
, the traditional Children's Easter will be held after 10:00 am mass in the lower at St. Casimir. All pre-school age children are invited to this fun event.


Don't forget that Juventus is coming up on April 24th. This event will feature 168 dancers from Toronto, Chicago, Lemont, and of course our own Svyturys from right here in Cleveland, performing both traditional and new Lithuanian folk dances. The dance performance will be followed by dinner catered by Europa. The evening concludes with an opportunity for you to get out on the dance floor. Tickets and information are available by calling Ricardas Sirvinskas at 440-749-2121.


According to Friday's Plain Dealer, a federal judge ruled this week that a lawsuit filed by Joe Jurevicius against the Cleveland Browns can go forward. The Browns had claimed that the suit should be dismissed because the NFL collective bargaining agreement has a provision for arbitration. Jurevicius alleges that the Browns and Cleveland Clinic neglected to inform him about potentially hazardous conditions at the Browns training facility in Berea, which led to a persistent staph infection acquired after arthroscopic knee surgery.


The Onion bills itself as America's Finest News Source
. What's not so obvious in that claim is that it's also America's finest fake news source. The Onion is such well written parody that many unsuspecting folks are taken into believing the stories are real. This week The Onion turned its wit on Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas with an article claiming that Ilgauskas is unsure of his ancestry, finally concluding that he must be from Turkey. Read the article at theonion.com.