LORAIN -- At its heart, the Lorain International Festival is a reflection of the hopes, dreams and lives of the immigrants who came here before us.
Before the creation of the Lorain International Festival, the nationalities in Lorain would celebrate individually during the summer.
The late Jim Mahony, who, through his many years with The Morning Journal, worked as a reporter, editor and a columnist, said in an oral interview with the Lorain Public Library in 1989, that he was "involved in the first phase" of what would become the Lorain International Festival.
"The editor of the paper at that time was Irving Leibowitz. He came to us from the Indianapolis Star. This was, I would say, about 1966. When he came to Lorain and got involved in the city, he knew that we had 55 nationalities in the community. Many of the nationalities were having their individual parties during the summer. One weekend, it would be Hungarian, the next weekend it would be Polish, and the next weekend it would be Slovenian," said Mahony.
"As a result," said Mahony, "Leibowitz said, 'Let's take these groups and make it one big solid body.' So, we organized the 55 nationalities into a group to have one big affair and we called it the International Festival. That's actually how the thing developed. Being a member of the Journal and being city editor and news editor at the time, I became involved in the early stages. It's been good for the community and also good for the participants," Mahony said.
Leibowitz contacted the various ethnic groups, clubs and churches in the city about forming a week-long festival celebrating the city's nationalities.
"In 1966," wrote Nicholas Barbaresso, a lifelong member of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 2000 Tower Blvd., Lorain, in his chronicle of the church's history on its website (www.stnicholas.oh.goarch.org), "the church acted on a challenge from the editor of the Journal, Irving Leibowitz, that the various ethnic groups in Lorain form an Lorain International Festival. The first one was held in July of 1967."
According to the members of the Black River Historical Society, who pooled their efforts into a book titled, "Images of America: Lorain, Ohio," Leibowitz established the festival as "a yearly, week-long celebration of the customs, traditions, foods and dress of Lorain's more than 55 nationalities. The first International Parade in 1967 had 80 units in it and more than 15,000 people watched. The first queen was Irene Kychun, who represented the Ukrainian nationality."
Don Nickerson, president of the Lorain International Association, discussed why he believes the event has lasted into the new millennium and beyond.
"I think it's a lot of things. I truly believe it comes down to the people and the city, and who we are, and the fact that, as a community we come together as one, and that we're all a little bit different," Nickerson said.
"Even the way the organization itself works, the people of separate talents who come together, it's who we are as a people. It brings home who we all are," he said.
The history and longevity of the festival has even made its way into textbooks.
"A co-worker of mine said they talked about the International Festival in a sociology text at Cleveland State University. My daughter is a student at John Carroll University. She said they have discussed the festival in their history and sociology classes. It's not just a festival, it's an event," Nickerson said.
Festival week traditionally begins with the International Breakfast on Monday morning held at DeLuca's Place in the Park, Lorain.
Every year, a nationality is spotlighted along with a business or organization. A guest speaker representing the nationality is chosen to address the breakfast audience at DeLuca's. The spotlight industry often has an open house and a booth at the Festival bazaar detailing more about their organization.
The Tuesday of festival week is reserved for the Heritage of Sacred Music, an amalgam of church choirs and soloists from different nationalities performing on stage at the Lorain Palace Theatre, 617 Broadway, Lorain.
Wednesday of Festival week traditionally was Cultural Night, when the chosen nationality will have a special celebration. However, for the past two festivals, that particular event has shifted to the Saturday before festival week begins.
Thursday during festival week can only mean one thing: the Princess Pageant at the Lorain Palace. Princesses, dressed in the costumes and colors of their nationality, perform individually and as a group for the judges and audience members. One will be chosen queen. Three will be chosen to represent her court.
From Friday of festival week through Sunday, the bazaar portion of the festival unfolds, offering a veritable smorgasbord of ethnic food and entertainment.
The festival bazaar originally occurred in the huge parking lot behind the Centre of Sheffield. In 2000, it was relocated to Veterans Park in downtown Lorain. It stayed there until 2003, when the festival's three-day bazaar made its last move to the Black River Landing.
The parade travels along Broadway, from 18th Street to Erie Avenue, where it passes a reviewing stand set up in front of Lorain City Hall. The parade disburses on Washington Avenue near Veterans Park.
Some highlights of the Lorain International Festival and Bazaar include the following:
o In 1992, former Associated Press reporter and Lorain native Terry Anderson, who'd been released just months earlier from nearly seven years as a hostage in Lebanon, served as grand marshal of the parade. The national media descended on Lorain to see him, and newspapers reported that hotel rooms around Lorain County had sold out. It was former Morning Journal reporter Jack LaVriha who worked tirelessly to keep Anderson in the spotlight during his days of captivity, and was largely responsible for bringing the newsman to the city.
o In 1996, Vietnamese princess MyAn Zagorsky is crowned queen, beating her identical twin sister, MyLe.
o In 2000, when the city's lease of the Sheffield Centre parking lot expired, the festival bazaar moved from Sheffield Centre to Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Lorain.
o In 2003, the festival bazaar moved to its current home, the Black River Landing.
o 2004, for the first time in its history, an admission of $1 is charged for admittance into the festival bazaar. The admission price is now $2 per day.