by Kathy Hanis
Holy Family Catholic Church is celebrating Slovenefest 2014 on Saturday, Sept. 27.
The 6th Annual Slovenefest celebration will be held at Monsignor Mejak Hall, Gym, and Holy Family School Grounds located at 513 Ohio, Kansas City, Kan. The festival will run from 5 to 10 p.m. The Rev. Peter M. Jaramillo is the full-time pastor of Holy Family Church.
The 6th Annual Slovenefest is dedicated to Don Lipovac in memory of his outstanding contribution to classical and folkloric Slovenian accordion music to the local community and his many years of entertainment, both locally and worldwide.
When Lipovac was 7, he played his button box accordion at family events. When he was 16, he won a competition at Municipal Auditorium to appear on “Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour,” a kind of “American Idol” of the early 1950s.
He performed on the Lawrence Welk Show and countless weddings and church and ethnic festivals. Brian McCarty, who played with Don, will provide the musical entertainment and the Hrvatski Običaj Tamburaši group will also perform.
Other Slovenians that have made their mark here include Monsignor Heliodore N. Mejak, who was the longest living priest to serve at Holy Family Church from June 1944 until Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2007, for a total of 64 years.
Other notable persons of Slovene heritage throughout the world include: Bishop Anton Martin Slomsek, who was also a scholar, was responsible for saving the Slovenian Heritage, was beatified by Pope John Paul II on Sept. 19, 1999. Bishop Frederic Baraga was honored by beatification by Pope Benedict XV. France Prešen was a 19th-century Romantic Slovene poet, best known as the poet who inspired virtually all later Slovene literature and has been generally acknowledged as the greatest Slovene classical author. The art nouveau style of Slovene architect, Jože Plečnik, designed the iconic “3 Bridges” and many notable buildings and contributed to many civic improvements in the city market place, and along the banks of the Ljubljanica River and through Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. Locally, Dr. Paul L. O’Boynick II is a neurosurgeon with Neurosurgery Associates of Kansas. Dr. Michael Bartkoski spent his career in the animal health sciences field, primarily in vaccine manufacturing. Robert Serra is a Kansas District judge. Joseph Lastelic is a retired Washington correspondent for The Kansas City Star. He also played the organ here at the church many years ago. Alfred Matthew Yankovic, better known by his stage name, “Weird Al,” Yankovic’s father, Nick Louis Yankovic, was of Slovenian descent, was born in Kansas City, Kan., and was baptized at Holy Family Church, as well as many other outstanding Slovenian parishioners.
The Slovenian celebration will begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, with Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church, 274 Orchard St., Kansas City, Kan.
Festivities will follow the Mass and include children and adult games, a cultural booth, souvenirs, and a silent auction, and an authentic Slovenian dinner, serving a choice of Sarma (stuffed cabbage roll), Poljene Paprika (stuffed pepper), Krvavica (a specialty sausage), Slovenian potato salad and green beans.
For information, contact Holy Family Church office at 913-371-1561 or www.holyfamilychurchkck.com.
