Unique accordion

The new season of Slovenia's Got Talent (SIT - Slovenija ima talent) seems to be the talk of the last few days in Slovenia. Poplular and well known folk ensemble Azalea was one of the performers that caught the most attention with their performance and this unique accordion (see photo below).

Ensemble Azalea at Slovenia's Got Talent (Slovenija ima talent) - Foto: Dejan Vrtačnik

The four members of Azalea performed the song Poison in some kind of polka-rock style and the audience loved them - and so did the three judges. Good luck, Azalea!

Here's a video with another polka by ensemble Azalea - from one of the folk music festivals in Slovenia (2. festival za Veliko nagrado Dolenjske, Šentjernej 2010):

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Spring Hill Orchid Show

For a few years in a row, Orchid Lovers Club of Spring Hill has rented our Suncoast SNPJ Lodge 778 hall on County Line Road for their annual Orchid Show in March. I've heard about the event but never visited - and I'm glad I changed that today!

2011 Spring Hill Orchid Show at the Spring Hill Hall

One of the things that surprised me every time I walked into familiar Hall, ready for another event, was - how different it looked. Like I've never been there before.

Orchid Show at the Spring Hill Hall

At the entrance I met one of the happy visitors, Charles Leavitt, with a breathtaking orchid with lavender blooms - and asked him if I could take a picture of his prized new possession and and him for this post (photo below).

Charles Leavitt and his new orchid

And then I took many photos of the beautiful orchid blooms in the most amazing colors and color combinations. Some of the best ones you can see below.

Orchids in pretty colors

The most unusual orchid I've ever seen

The most eye-catching color combination at the Spring Hill Orchid Show

Simple beauty of an orchid flower

Spring Hill Orchid Show

Orchids at the Orchid Show

Pretty in pink - orchids at the Spring Hill Hall

Orchid Lovers Orchid Show

Bi-colored orchids

Elegant orchid flowers

All in all, 2011 Spring Hill Orchid Show was well worth visiting and I'm sure I'll go see it again. See more orchid photos by clicking on the link below:

Blooming Orchid Plants at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


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Mother's Day - Materinski dan

Closeup of Cinco De Mayo rose flower

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Today is the Mother's Day (Materinski dan) in Slovenia. To all the moms all over the place I'm sending my best wishes and these beautifully scented roses from my front yard. Happy Mother's Day!! :)

Blooming Cinco De Mayo rose

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Tiny yellow petunias that bloom all season long decided to turn into perennials (I bought and planted  them last spring)
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The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
~Rajneesh

Brez sonca roža ne cveti,
a nam brez mam živeti ni.
Zahvalim soncu se za cvet,
a tebi, ker ves moj si svet!

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2011 Florida SNPJ Days in Spring Hill

I am still working on all the (photo and video) materials from this year's Florida SNPJ Days, hosted by Suncoast SNPJ Lodge 778 in Spring Hill. But to give you a little taste of what was going on at our hall, here's a photo and a video.
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Photo above by Rose Zaletel - Friday Jam Session at the Spring Hill Hall: Kathy Paulenich (button box), Larry Zaletel (button box), John Gurl (drums), Pete November (button box) and Tony (button box)
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Video above - Sunday jamming with Alex Meixner
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Srečen - Happy

"Srečen" - Happy - is one of those things that probably every human being wants to be - as much - or as often - as possible.

Some recent events reminded me again how irrelevant so many things we tend to worry about in life are and I am now even more determined to stay focused on the bright side of my life.

That's why I decided to share some happiness with this happy polka, performed by an excellent Slovenian ensemble "Novi Spomini." I very much admire them for the incredible vocals.

Enjoy: "Srečen" (Happy) and "Novi Spomini" (New Memories)!


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Name Day tradition in Slovenia

In Slovenia, the Name Day - "god" in Slovenian, is still way more important to a lot of people than their birthday - and that's what they celebrate every year. Just last night Nežka was telling me about the Name Day tradition in the village near Domžale, where she comes from.

In my early years, the traditional celebrations haven't been a significant part of my life - although I lived in a small village with around 600 residents, scattered around pretty large area. But my mom was a teacher and my dad was a journalist and they both worked all days. Therefore, when other kids spent their out-of-school time on the fields, pastures and woods or in the barns, I was with either of my grandmothers - pretty far away - or on the beach.

A few minutes ago I came across a post on FaceBook, saying that today is "god" - the Name Day of all whose name is "Jože, Jožica, Joci, Pepi, Pepca..."

I can easily imagine that tonight is about to be a party night for a lot of Slovenians because these are all very common names and "veselice" will happen in private homes and public places.

Let's join in the party with this lively polka "Ljubim Jožico" (I Love Jožica) performed by one of my favorite Slovenian bands, Donačka.

"Lepo praznujte" (happy celebration)! :)


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First annual Craft Show

SUNCOAST DANCE AND PARTY CENTER

SNPJ Lodge 778

 13383 County Line Road

 Spring Hill, Florida 34609

Contact:         Daria                         

Telephone:     (727) 753-9631

Date:               April 9, 2011

CRAFT SHOW ON APRIL 9, 2011

All vendors, craft artisans and public - invited to participate in the first annual craft show on April 9, 2011. Bring your creative talents and colorful art treasures for all to see and buy!  

Dates:             Saturday, April 9, 2011— Craft Show

Times:             April 9, 2011— 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Location:        (SNPJ) Suncoast Dance & Party Center

                        13383 County Line Road, Spring Hill, Florida

Table claim:   Friday, April 8, 2011 – 10:00 AM – 2 PM (first come first served)

Table setup:   Saturday, April 9, 2011 – 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Booth Fee:      Inside the hall— $10.00 per table

                        Outside — $8.00 per table

                        CASH OR CHECKS ONLY.

                        CHECKS PAYABLE TO:  SNPJ

Contacts:        Daria (727) 753-9631

                        Catherine (989) 768-0031 on Saturday’s only.

Food and soft drinks available on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Proceeds will benefit the SNPJ Scholarship Fund.

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Friday at Samsula

Since I was already on the east coast of Florida for the last space shuttle Discovery launch, I decided to stay there another day, check out some other attractions and go to Samsula on Friday afternoon for the 2011 Florida Slovene Days at SNPJ Lodge 603.

The first thing that surprised me when I arrived to Samsula Hall was the 'Polka Avenue' sign. I thought that was very cute.
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Friday polka fest turned out to be a great event. The place was packed with happy people, some were leaving while new ones kept coming in and there were not enough seats for everyone. The choice of foods was outstanding and "orehovi rogljički" was something I haven't seen in years so I had to try them and I have to admit they were delicious. Whoever made them, had to use the original traditional Slovenian recipe.
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My son can never resist a "štrudelj" and he finished a piece so fast that I had to seriously intervene and confiscate the last bite before it was gone. The original agreement was that we would share both desserts... ;)
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I met many wonderful people at Samsula Lodge and both former and present SNPJ National Secretaries were there: Grace Doerk and Karen Pintar.
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As I said, the place was packed so I only managed to take one video of the jam session with Tony Klepec and friends. They were playing "Tam dol na ravnem polju," a traditional Slovenian folk song.
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Next year I might go and stay at Samsula all three days for their 2012 Florida Slovene Days.
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Saturday dance with Frank Moravcek from Cleveland, Ohio

Suncoast SNPJ Lodge 778 - Slovene-American Club in Spring Hill hosted its traditional February dance with Frank Moravcek from Cleveland, Ohio, this Saturday, February 26, 2011.

Photo above: Linda Hochevar and Frank Moravcek

The music was good, the hall was full and people seem to have fun. Yet another event is 'under the roof' while the 2010/2011 season of events with Spring Hill SNPJ Lodge is fast approaching its end. Only one more weekend to go - with the biggest event of the year 2011.

If you were at the Spring Hill Hall on Saturday night, you might see yourself dancing in the video below and in case you weren't, you might recognize some people who were enjoying themselves.
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One more video - Saturday night jam session. Enjoy!
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92 minutes of Slovenian music

Image via WikipediaIn case you're up for 92 minutes of Slovenian music, click on the link below, lean back, relax and enjoy. This is a  New Year Eve's show "Videomeh" with Slovenian polkas and waltzes, singing at its best by the legends of Slovenian folk and pop music scene, hosted by two popular hosts and singers, Boris Kopitar and Nuša Derenda. 


Other popular vocals some of you might recognize are: Alfi Nipič, Oto Pestner and Elda Viler. Of course Slovenian music show would not be Slovenian without the music by Slavko Avsenik and Lojze Slak. There are a few other bands and individuals worth hearing in that show but I'll let you be surprised. Oh, and there are only a few commercials in that show, produced by Slovenian National TV 1.


Click on the link below, it will open a new window and a very happy music will start playing just a few moments later (depending on the speed of your computer).


Silvestrski Videomeh


Photo above: Oto Pestner


From Wikipedia:

Oto Pestner is one of the most prominent singers and composers of popular music from Slovenia, born in 1956 in Ljubljana. Until 2008 he was the leader of the Slovene vocal group New Swing Quartet.
From 1986 to 1991 and in 1995 he was member of Alpski kvintet (German: Alpenoberkrainer)

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Alex Meixner Band instead of Polka Quads

Image by sunflower19020 via FlickrAbout a week ago Polka Quads (they were supposed to play at the Spring Hill Hall on Saturday and Sunday - March 5 and 6) had to cancel their participation in Suncoast SNPJ Lodge 778 biggest event of the year - Florida SNPJ Days 2011. Here's what John Salov, the band leader of Polka Quads sent to me in an email:

Daria:


It breaks my heart to cancel but all 3 0f my guys (2 because of work and 1 guys daughter is playing softball in Kentucky) could not make it. These things just came up and I shed tears over it. You people have been good to the Quads and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.


Please pass this info on to anybody who asks.


Again I am sorry but I can't come there without my best band.


I hope this clears up any rumors that you have heard.


John Salov - Polka Quads

Therefore, our three day weekend - Florida SNPJ Days 2011 on March 4 - 6 will now go as follows:

• Friday, March 4, 20011: All day jam session with Pete November from Ohio from 1 to 6 pm. Admission $5, for jammers who bring in instruments and participate in one of the jam sessions admission is FREE. All instruments welcome. To play as a group, sign up by calling Daria at: (727) 753-9631. As always, polka and waltz dancers (and your family and friends) are more than welcome as well!
• Saturday, March 5, 2011: Alex Meixner Band from 6 to 10 pm. Admission $10.
• Sunday, March 6, 2011: Alex Meixner Band from 2 to 6 pm. Admission $10.

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As always, food and cash bar will be available. For any further information and reservations call Daria (phone number above).

For those of you who don't know Alex Meixner or have never heard him play before, he is a Grammy nominated musician and producer - and here's the description of his music performance I found on his website:

Alex Meixner carries on a Family Tradition of music brought to the USA by his Austrian great grandfather. Building upon this foundation and extensive performances/ touring with his father in The Al Meixner Trio for many years, Alex has developed a fresh musical voice that has made him one of the most exciting performers on the American polka scene. 

Alex’s high energy performances of everything from old time polkas and waltzes to more jazz and pop influenced repertoire has won over audiences throughout North America and continues to attract new fans. Equally at home with traditional and contemporary styles, performances on about a dozen instruments (including the 12 foot long Swiss Alphorn and trademark Meixner Button Box sound) and vocals in English, German, Slovenian, Croatian, Czech and more- the band’s reputation continues to grow.


From dynamic polkas and waltzes to Gypsy folk songs to Rocktoberfest parodies, Swing, Latin and Country dance music- the dizzying array of music is perfect for everything from World Music Concerts and family friendly folk festivals to a frenetic non-stop dance party.

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And if you want to find out more still, here's the video (no video, sorry!) of Alex Meixner, playing Schwadamo Polka.
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Actually, Alex has such a unique way of playing accordion that I decided to add another video just so you can see him performing live. Besides accordion he also plays several other instruments, all with equal passion. Of course, to really experience his music, the best way would be to come to Spring Hill first weekend in March and check him out for yourself - and meet Alex Meixner in person.
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Before finishing my morning cup of hot chocolate soy milk and wrapping this post up - I'd like to thank in advance to everyone who volunteered to help me with all the tasks for Friday, March 4 jam session, to all of you who helped me promoting Suncoast SNPJ Lodge 778 events since last Thanksgiving, and all of you who are planning on coming to our events. I appreciate you all more than words can say!
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