St. Sava (Issaquah, WA) Serbian Days 2009
Each year, St. Sava Church of Issaquah, WA commemorates its July 21-23, 1995 consecration in late July with its Serbian Days celebration on its 2-acre grounds purchased by the faithful in 1991 and improved over the interim to include a Serbian Orthodox style chapel and hall with office and classrooms in the main building. This years festivities July 25 and 26 included a soccer tournament all day Saturday, Vespers with His Grace Bishop Maxim in attendance, lunch, dinner and music. Sandra Stankovic and Anja Nikolic greeted His Grace with the traditional bread and salt. Roast pig, lamb and cevapcici prepared by experienced masters of the spit and grillers were available all day complemented by Serbian specialty side dishes and pastries expertly prepared by women of the parish. The soccer tournament featured teams from St. Stephens Church in Portland, OR and Serbian Churches from Vancouver, BC, a Seattle Bulgarian team and St. Sava Church in Issaquah with Portland winning in a tensely contested twilight game following Vespers. Talented St. Sava parishioners provided music during the day and evening on Saturday. A crew of 40 or more dedicated parishioners performed the various tasks such as directing parking, selling tickets, serving food and refreshments, cleaning, decorating, and the myriad other activities it takes to insure a special celebration for everyone attending. Sunday began with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy with His Grace, parish priest Proto Ilija Balach and retired Bulgarian archpriest Fr. Marko Kosev. The afternoon again featured Serbian specialty foods with music for dancing and listening provided by an orchestra from Vancouver, BC. St. Savas Senior Drina Folklore Group entertained the crowd with a suite of dances to the cheers of everyone in attendance. A magician then thoroughly entertained the youngsters and their parents before everyone returned to enjoy music and dancing under the bigtop tent put up each year to shelter everyone from the sun. Though unusually hot for the great Northwest, no one seemed to mind as the property was filled all weekend. All events and activities were masterfully organized by the Church Board and the Kolo Srpskih Sestara with the support of many volunteers helping throughout both days. The hundreds who came during the weekend enjoyed themselves because of the hard work of many parishioners. |
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