Community Outreach Dance Workshop (June 2014)

The Simply Slavic in the Community Community Outreach Dance Workshop will take place on Thursday, June 5, 2013 from 6-9 PM. Each year at the festival we are asked by attendees where they can learn the spirited Slavic dances so we decided to give people the opportunity to learn beforehand!

Posters Now Available

Simply Slavic 2013 Poster

Simply Slavic posters are now available for this year's festival. Looking to help spread the word? You can download and print the Simply Slavic 2013 event poster!

Music Preview Featuring Harmonia

Members of the ethnic music band Harmonia and Simply Slavic's director Ken Shirilla offer an exciting preview of the great Slavic music and entertainment that will be featured at this summer's Simply Slavic Festival in Downtown Youngstown.

Half Way To Simply Slavic Wrap Up

The Slavic Clans of the Mahoning Valley gathered at the Lemon Grove Café on Friday, December 2, 2011. This was a first-ever Simply Slavic event held indoors and was organized to raise funds to help defray costs associated with the large outdoor festival held each June in Downtown Youngstown. The evening was filled with Slavic-themed entertainment non-stop from 5 pm until 2:30 am. Also featured during the event were several imported beers from some of the Slavic nations, šljivovica- the potent plum brandy beloved by so many Slavs, and an extremely popular kolachi tasting. A Russian-inspired Beef Stroganoff plate was offered by the Lemon Grove chefs to help maintain the Slavic theme of the evening. Special drawings were held and enabled event organizers Dave Slanina, John Slanina, Ken Shirilla and Aundréa Cika-Heschmeyer to mingle with the crowd sprinkled with local descendents representing most of the lands where Slavs originated in Europe. Even a smattering of people wearing ethnic costumes could be seen among the revelers, and those were rewarded with a chance at a special prize.

You're Invited!

We are inviting you to celebrate Slavic culture at the first ever Simply Slavic open-air festival to be held in Downtown Youngstown on Saturday, June 18th 2011.These modern-day nations in Europe represent the origins of our Slavic ancestors: Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine. 

We plan to open the festival with an ecumenical service representing the major religions of our Slavic ancestors: Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox Christian and Roman Catholic. This will truly be a wonderful event in itself and will symbolize the brotherhood which all Slavs share.