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By GINA THACKARA; Times Leader Correspondent
Friday, October 16, 1992 Page: 1D QUICK WORDS: LUZERNE COUNTY FOLK
FESTIVAL
WILKES-BARRE — More than 20 young girls in Polish costume danced the
czardas on the huge center stage.
Workers at the Jewish Community Center display offered apples and honey to
passers-by to celebrate the New Year.
Irish knit sweaters. Slovak Christmas celebrations. Greek textiles.
Indonesian food and French pastry. All were a part of the 17th annual Luzerne
County Folk Festival, which began Thursday night and continues until Sunday at
the 109th Field Artillery Armory.
The festival celebrates ethnic diversity in Northeastern Pennsylvania. This
year’s theme is “New World-Old Culture.”
“This year the festival is somewhat different because of the political
changes going on throughout the world,” said Walter Karpinich, festival
co-chairman.
Karpinich, a Wilkes University language professor, has been involved with
the festival since its inception in 1976.
“For the first time, many of the groups from the former Soviet bloc are
actually represented as independent nations, not just ethnic groups or
sub-cultures,” he said.
Karpinich said many people, representing newly-independent nations such as
the Ukraine and Croatia, designed their exhibits with a fresh sense of
national pride.
“We would have liked to do more this year to celebrate national
independence for these countries, but we decided this year was the special
anniversary of Columbus’ voyage,” he said.
But ethnic and national groups throughout the armory did display examples
of their heritage with glowing pride.
Susan Marsh, representing the African-American Committee in the opening
ceremonies, proudly displayed colorful cloths, wood carvings, utensils and
literature celebrating African-American culture.
“I’ve only been at this booth two years,” she said. “It’s an exhausting
four days, but I enjoy this festival so much. There’s so much to see, so many
people to visit and talk with.”
Marsh showed two ebony wood carvings representing the universal family
tree.
“Very few of us know where we came from, who our people were on the African
continent. But we understand unity with the world,” Marsh said.
Dressed in colorful Croatian costumes, Clarks Summit residents Christine
and Darlene Sarcevic said they have been exhibiting at the festival for 10
years.
This year, they are alone in the booth, while their parents are in Croatia
leading a pilgrimage to the shrine at Medugorje and carrying food and medical
supplies to the war-torn Eastern European nation.
“When we first came to this festival, I was 12 years old,” said 22-year-old
Darlene. “People asked about my costume or about the displays. Lately, they
have been asking where Croatia is and about the war.”
Admission to the festival is $4.