Serbian parishes join forces to bring ethnic flavors to International Village

By JEFF STITT
jstitt@yourmvi.com

McKeesport’s International Village is about fellowship, tradition and community.
Yesterday marked the second day of the three-day ethnic food, dancing and music festival at Renziehausen Park, which is in its 61st year.
Getting to taste global fare is arguably one of the biggest draws to the Village.
There’s recipes from Austria, Croatia, Ghana, Greece, Egypt, France, Hawaii, Italy, Lebanon, Philippines, Serbia, Sweden, Taiwan and Vietnam.
As is the case for many of the booths, it’s very common to see a hearty number of people lining up each year at the Serbian food booth, which is usually sponsored and operated by St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in McKeesport.
This year, it’s being run by a sister church in the South Hills, but one of the church’s parishioners said St. Sava parishioners were working alongside those from Trinity Serbian Orthodox Cathedral.
Spokeswoman Dotti Ikach said the Hartman Street church has been undergoing a kitchen renovation.
“Our kitchen renovation began in late May and was estimated to take a month,” she said. “Due to some unexpected remodeling challenges, it is taking longer. The project is almost finished and we are looking forward to using it soon.”
She said the parishioners of St. Sava, McKeesport are proud a Serbian booth is being offered at this year’s village.
“One of our committee members reached out to one of their church officers to see if they were interested in doing it and they accepted,” Ikach said. “We are grateful to the Holy Trinity members who worked so hard to make it happen.
“It is important to have our Serbian heritage represented at the Village because our forefathers came to the region in the early 1900s to work in the mills and mines of Western PA.
“Our Serbian churches in the area support each other’s efforts and events.”
Vladimir Brajovich said he and fellow parishioners, led by their event chairman Rudley Mrvos and Father George Veselinovic, are excited to be serving traditional Serbian recipes to the people of McKeesport and the Mon Valley.
International Village is a chance to celebrate the people who came to the United States from many different lands around the world, settled in the McKeesport area and created or attended ethnic churches that allowed them to have a piece of home and their generational traditions in the Valley.
Those who emigrated to McKeesport and the region brought countless recipes from around the globe, as well as dances, songs and traditions.
To this day, a large number of the food booths at the Village are run by McKeesport area churches that feel strong about the history and traditions of their roots, and they use the festival as a chance to raise funds for operational budgets and/or mission work/outreach/special programming.
McKeesporters will be proud to know that while he was standing in the open-air food court, Brajovich seemed to fully grasp and relish in the true spirit of International Village.
As he observed folks chowing down on food inspired by people and nations from around the world, sharing a laugh and good conversation — and saw others patiently waiting with their loved ones in a long line for a lamb sandwich — Brajovich said he could feel a sense of community, fellowship and pride for heritage radiating in the atmosphere.
“People love the food, there’s lots of joking. It’s this Pittsburgh culture,” he said, adding that he’s an immigrant who came to Pittsburgh to attend graduate school at Carnegie Mellon University and has lived in the region for 30 years.
He said the dedication to tradition and culture in the area means a lot to him.
Part of what made him become a Pittsburgher is being able to be a part of a large Serbian community but also getting to live, work, worship and have fun with people who live in the area and are proud of their ancestry, whether they are of Polish, Irish, Hungarian, Croatian, Italian, French, Slovak, or another descent.
“That’s actually what inspires me — to kind of see this Western Pennsylvania culture and that the culture of this region lives,” he said, “because if it wasn’t for events like this that brings out people from their homes in the evening, we would just lose everything,” he continued.
Brajovich said he is “very impressed” with International Village and the size of the crowds.
“It’s amazing and it’s still going,” he said as polka music played in the background. “People know about this.”
Brajovich said the city and the festival committee should be commended for hosting an event that has remained popular for more than six decades.
“Look around — police, fire department, a mobile hospital is here,” he said. “It’s community. … It’s a show of solidarity. That’s how I see it.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Thursday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.

Jeff Stitt / Mon Valley Independent
Rankin Junior Tamburitzans performed Wednesday night at International Village in McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park.

Taylor Krucher of Belle Vernon is shown working at the Hawaiian booth preparing shaved-ice.
Mike Darnay / For the MVI

Mike Darnay / For the MVI
Dave Shively of West Mifflin makes Filipino melon (cantaloupe) juice at the FAAP (Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh) booth.