4TH HUNGARIAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL – Hungarian Language Day in New York ( Day 2.)

November 9, 2019, 4:00 pm - November 9, 2019, 10:30 pm

4TH HUNGARIAN HERITAGE FESTIVAL

Hungarian Language Day in New York

November 13 is the Hungarian Language Day. It was on that date in the year 1844 that legislation had been passed whereby Hungarian became the official language.

 

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2019

CELEBRATION OF THE CSÁNGÓ HUNGARIANS OF MOLDAVIA

In celebration of Hungarian Language Day the focus of the Hungarian Heritage Festival is on a Hungarian ethnic group living outside the borders of Historic Hungary, namely, the Csángó Hungarians who maintain cultural traditions dating to the distant past.

 

4 P.M. TO 5.30 P.M. ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

Workshops in Arts and Crafts and Children’s Dance with Petrás Mária Band and Csángó Hungarian guests

Activities organized by the Arany János Hungarian School in collaboration with the New York Hungarian Scouts

 

6 P.M. EXHIBIT OPENING

Ceramic Exhibition of Mária Petrás, Csángó Hungarian Artist of Moldavia

 

Mária Petrás is a recipient of the Prima Primissima award and the Hungarian Heritage Award, folk singer, ceramist, and member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts (MMA).
Mária Petrás shapes and fires into clay her in-depth awareness of the roots of the Csángó people, their communal values, human poise as well as the relationship between God and humankind.
She was born in the Moldavian Csángó village of Diószén in 1957 and as a child absorbed the ancient Moldavian Hungarian songs at the same time as she learned her mother tongue and also embraced Moldavian Csángó decorative arts. She relocated to Hungary in 1990, where she attended the Budapest School of Applied Arts, majoring in ceramics. The richness of her artistry is manifest in how it incorporates components of various periods of art history. In a given piece of her work the viewer can discover elements of ancient sculpture, of the ecclesiastical art of the Middle Ages as well as distinctive elements of folk art. A discerning viewer may note elements of Moldavian traditional dress in her figurines: the traditional kerchiefs, strands of beads, and ribbons on baby bunting. Her wonderful ceramic pieces, an expression of her very soul, can be found all over the world. Mária Petrás has had over 170 exhibitions in Europe and overseas. She interprets Moldavian Csángó music with unwavering conviction whether in solo performances, with the Muzsikás Folk Ensemble or the musicians of her own ensemble.

 

7 P.M. FOLK MUSIC CONCERT

Mária Petrás Band: Songs from Sunrise to Sunset

Folk music of the Csángó Hungarians of Moldavia, traditional and contemporary

Mária Petrás – vocals; Róbert Kerényi – flute, kaval; László Nyíri – violin; László Szlama – koboz; Félix Benke  – drum

The Csángó Hungarians of Moldavia are a Hungarian ethnic group living outside the borders of Historic Hungary. Csángó decorative arts, music and dance traditions as well as their dialect reveal layers of Hungarian culture harking back to a distant past. Mária Petrás, who was born in the Csángó region of Moldavia (Romania), presents the culture of Csángó Hungarians with unwavering conviction whether in solo performance, as permanent guest artist of the Muzsikás Folk Ensemble, or with the musicians of her own band. Mária Petrás’s band conserves Csángó musical traditions playing the most beautiful music of the Moldavian region including holy songs, songs accompanying customs, ballads, or traditional dance tunes. In their performances the band makes use of the traditional Csángó instrumental lineup of flute, kaval (end-blown flute), lute, Jew’s harp, violin and drum.

20:30 HUNGARIAN FOLK DANCE PARTY

Mária Petrás Band & Pál and Paulina Benke, Csángó Hungarian traditional dancers from Somoska, Moldavia

 

4:30 P.M. TO 10 P.M. FAIR

Meyke Fashion Exhibit and Fair
Melinda (Meyke) Madarász gains inspiration from traditional Hungarian decorative arts; an outstanding designer, she creates articles of fashion fusing traditional decorative motifs with modern fashion design.

Menu:

Csángó Hungarian gastronomy from Moldavia: stuffed cabbage (geluska), borcsos soup, and a kind of polenta (málé).

Among the Csángó people living in Moldavia, Romania the traditional cuisine takes its cues from locally available natural resources, the customs dictated by the Roman Catholic Church and preserves elements dating back to the periods when Hungarians first inhabited the Carpathian basin. Csángó music, dance and decorative arts do the same. The most typical Csángó dishes are soured soup, called borcsos leves, polenta (corn pudding), and cabbage leaves having either a vegetable or meat filling, called geluska.

 

DONATIONS TO THE HUNGARIAN HOUSE ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

 

Partner organizations:

Arany János Hungarian School

Association of Hungarian Folk Artists

Hungarian Scout Troops in New York

Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program

Petőfi Sándor Program

 

Supporters:

Balassi Institute, Hungarian Cultural Center in New York

Bethlen Gábor Fund, Hungary

National Cultural Fund, Hungary

Réka Darida Foundation

 

Artistic director:

Ildikó Nagy

 

Further Information:

Hungarian House of New York

American Foundation for Hungarian Literature and Education Ltd.

[email protected]