When I arrived at St. Sava’s Serbian Festival in Parma…
…hungry visitors were purchasing food/drink tickets…
…cevapcici was sizzling on the grill…
…and diners were enjoying their food in the shade…
…where they could catch a drink at the bar…
…stocked with beer from Serbia and Montenegro.
Although it was tempting to stop, I continued on….
…down a row of vendors that offered…
…Serbian clothing…
…religious items and Serbian gifts…
…plenty of Serbian DVD’s…
…and some games for the kids.
Inside, there was even more going on…
…so I headed first to the dining area…
…where the friendly volunteers stopped to welcome me…
…before continuing to serve such tasty dishes as…
…stuffed cabbage, sausage, kraut and chicken paprikash.
Meanwhile, at the dessert table…
…the cakes called to me…
…as did the cookies, bars, and palachinka (Serbian crepes), honestly.
And check out these Serbian strawberries!
As some festival goers enjoyed their food to Serbian entertainment…
…others decided to shop along this wall…
…for religious items…
…or various other must-have gifts.
(I seriously considered purchasing those little bunnies.)
Elsewhere in the building, the festival took the responsibility of educating its visitors….
…about the land…
…church history…
…and even the Orthodox faith via this video.
Festival goers could visit the church…
…and learn either about St. Sava…
…or aspects of the Serbian Orthodox Church through scattered stations of literature.
I, instead, looked around, admiring the art, and talked with the parishioners.
In fact, I should say that everyone I met at this festival was extremely sweet…the bartenders, the ladies at Serbian merchandise booth outside, and the food volunteers inside…
…(I was even given an extra piece of cake, by the way).
There was also a female parishioner who I had the pleasure of talking with and who went out of her way to unlock a room…
…decorated Serbian style by the priest’s wife – just so I could see it!
And I’m really appreciative of this…
…so thank you!
It just goes to show you that what really makes a festival great is the people…
…all of them.