Carpatho-Rusyn Society/ Pacific Coast Branch Celebrates Carpatho-Rusyn Day

To celebrate our Carpatho-Rusyn history and culture this year on October 26, the Pacific Coast branch has invited maestro Dean Poloka* to discuss the origins and lead us in the singing of our Carpatho-Rusyn anthem, Ja Rusyn Byl.

Click here for the written melody and lyrics. All who attend are encouraged to have them on hand for the program. Singers of all levels are welcome.

October 26 at 4:45 pm Pacific Time (after a 15-minute break following national’s program: a discussion led by the inimitable Professor Paul Robert Magocsi.)

Please register to receive a Zoom link on October 26.

* Dean Poloka has been a choreographer with the Slavjane Folk Ensemble, a children’s Carpatho-Rusyn ensemble in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area since 1991, and was Associate Program Director (2001-2010), then Program Director (2010-2018) of the ensemble.

Dean has been researching Carpatho-Rusyn music, song, and dance for over 25 years. Dean researched traditional Carpatho-Rusyn dance styling and choreography with the well-known Šarišan, PUĽS, and Dúbrava folk ensembles in Prešov, Slovakia.

Dean also plays a wide variety of instruments and has been active in a Carpatho-Rusyn folk band for many decades. Since 2004, he has hosted and produced the Carpatho-Rusyn Society Heritage Program, a weekly internet radio broadcast currently on Rusyn.FM heard Sundays from 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern.

In October 2014, Dean was awarded the honor of Master Artist and Tradition Bearer by Rivers of Steel – a non-profit organization that showcases the artistry and innovation of southwestern Pennsylvania’s industrial and cultural heritage.