FEBRUARY, 2006
COMMEMERATION OF LITHUANIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
Saturday, March 11, 2006
At the Lithuanian Hall
11629 – 83 Street, Edmonton, Alberta
Social Hour: 5:30 p.m.
Dinner: 6:30 p.m.
Program: After Dinner
Adults $10
Children Free
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
It is February once again and we will soon be celebrating our Independence Day. A dinner will be served through the efforts of Danguole Repsiene and Gloria Bartkus. As a special treat, we will have a performance by a jazz quartet, one of the members of which is our own Tadas Korris.
Space will be limited and we ask that everyone please let us know in advance if you are able to attend. This helps us to properly plan the amount of food so that no one is turned away and everyone has enough to eat. Also, as this event celebrates our heritage, anyone who would like to contribute a Lithuanian dish to the event, please let Jean Luke know. We all love our Lithuanian dishes!! Please confirm your attendance as soon as possible and no later than Wednesday, March 8, 2006, by phoning Jean Luke at 454 7061 or Kostas Zolpis at 454 4920.
EXECUTIVE MESSAGE
Warm greetings and best wishes to all of you in the New Year!!! We have had another wonderful year due to the efforts of all of our hard working volunteers. We thank everyone who supported us during this past year, and we look forward to another exciting year full of events and social gatherings. We wish everyone health, happiness and prosperity in the upcoming year!
The directors also would like to give special thanks to Eita Repsyte for translating our Newsletter.
HARVEST BONANZA
Once again we had a successful Harvest Bonanza (Oktoberfest) on October 22, 2005 which we hope was enjoyed by all. More that 100 people attended and we would like to thank everybody for making this event so popular! Our special thanks to the Bartkus family for preparing the meal (which was very delicious), Veronika Kroetsch who organized the lottery, and everyone who contributed to the prizes.
MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
One of our members, Mrs. Karosas, recently received the Gold Alberta Centennial Medal from Castle Downs MLA, Thomas Lukazuk. She was recognized for running the Lithuanian School in Edmonton in the fifties and sixties, as well as publishing two books, her first at the age of 79 in 2002. Congratulations!
NEW PIANO AND OTHER USE OF CASINO PROCEEDS
One of our exciting new acquisitions from our Casino proceeds is a new Yamaha upright piano for the Hall. Our old piano weathered many years and many Lithuanian songs but was no longer functional. This new piano is constructed from spruce and is specially made for the North American climate. We also purchased a Yamaha electric keyboard which will also enhance the many activities we have in the Hall. The keyboard can replicate many musical sounds, from an organ to a string orchestra. The keyboard will serve as an organ during church services and Kostas convinced Nejolla Korris to play for those services for years to come. We hope all of you will enjoy the new musical sounds from our newly acquired keyboards. Both instruments will be used during the Independence Day celebration. The Society is intending to sell the old piano for $500 or best offer. For further information, please contact Nejolla.
Also because we have been so successful at our casinos, the directors thought it would be appropriate to make donations to various charities within the guidelines of the Alberta Gaming rules. One such donation was to the Red Cross to assist victims of the Tsunami which occurred last year. Donations were also made to local cancer and heart foundations as well as to the Edmonton school hot lunch program and to the Calgary Lithuanian School.
JOKE CORNER
A telephone is ringing in the Kremlin. It’s a long-distance call, and someone wants to speak with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. A staffer tells the caller that, unfortunately, the long-ailing Brezhnev is now dead.
After just a few minutes, the phone rings again and the same voice asks to speak with Brezhnev.
“Look, he’s dead!,” the caller is told once more. “Didn’t you hear me the first time?!”
“Of course. But it’s just such a nice thing to hear.”
RECIPE FOR KUGELIS
Ingredients:
10 large potatoes (about 5 lbs) 1 medium onion
5 slices bacon 2 tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Pepper 3 eggs
2 tbsp. Flour ½ cup milk or evaporated milk
Peel potatoes. Grate potatoes and onions. Dice bacon and fry until crisp. Pour fat and bacon over potatoes. Add warm milk mix in. Add eggs one at a time mixing in each one as it is added. Add pepper, salt and flour – mix well. Pour into greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for the first 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake for additional 45 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot with sour cream.
2006 ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPS NOW DUE
A reminder to everyone that the 2006 membership dues are now payable. Memberships are $10.00 each ($20.00 for the entire family) and our Treasurer will be happy to accept payment of your dues at the March event or by mail.
CONTACT
For any additional information, please contact Jean Luke at 454-7061. If you have any news or events that you think would be of interest to our members, please contact Vida McLeod at 425-1001, Ext. 232, so that we can add your contribution to the Newsletter.