Finalizing plans for our Jan. 15 Rusyn New Year potluck celebration

The site of our board meeting on the grounds of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church.

The board of the Lake Michigan Chapter of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society met Friday evening at Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen to finalize plans for our potluck lunch marking the old calendar Rusyn New Year on Jan. 15.

While we'll be getting out a flyer, here are the basics:

What: A potluck lunch, with some Rusyn Christmas tunes to celebrate the old calendar New Year (which falls January 14). We're hoping for traditional Rusyn dishes, favorite family recipes to share with other Rusyns.
When: Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011. Doors open at noon, lunch starts at 1 p.m.
Where: St. Michael Orthodox Church, Niles, Ill.

We're also hoping to begin collecting Rusyn family photos as we start to archive our history in Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. We'll have a scanner on hand to make digital copies of your treasured old photos if you'd like to share them with our Carpatho-Rusyn community.

It should be a great way to wrap up the holiday season and get to know each other in a relaxed social setting.

And while it's still a few months (and a full winter season) away, the board set a date for a Pysanky Workshop: Saturday, March 26.

Pysanky

We'll announce the location and other details later. But we plan on a speaker, who will explain the traditional Rusyn craft of Easter Egg design, and offer hands-on help in making your own pysanky.

Save the date for a look at one of the most treasured traditions of the Carpatho-Rusyn people.

We'll get you more information as the plans are set.