Eastern European Heritage Experience continues in Englewood this year

An ethnic event that has grown in popularity will be held in Englewood this year.

The 4th Annual Eastern European Heritage Experience featuring several of the area’s Eastern European communities, will be from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 18 at St. Paul Catholic Church, 1000 W. Wenger Road in Englewood. St. Paul Catholic Church is just west of the Kroger grocery store.

The fun-filled family event, which is free and open to the public, will feature ethnic food such as Hungarian cabbage rolls, sausage and pastries and Polish Pierogis, folklore dancing and cultural booths from various Eastern European countries including Hungary, Poland and Latvia.

The event, which is organized and hosted by the Magyar (Hungarian) Club of Dayton showcases the area’s ethnic melting-pot heritage and culture was the brainchild of the late David A. Boston, an active member of the Magyar (Hungarian) Club of Dayton – and a familiar face at many Dayton events, especially downtown.

Boston, who passed away in early 2024, formerly owned the Sports Page Eatery and Tavern in downtown Dayton and later Boston’s Bistro and Pub in north Dayton. He was part of a large Hungarian family that was rooted in Dayton’s West Side Hungarian neighborhood in the early part of the 20th Century. He saw that hosting an ethnically diverse event as an opportunity to bring the area’s Eastern European communities together and promote the origins of their ethnic heritage, especially to the younger generation.

Boston also served on the Eastern European Congress of Ohio with Laurel Tombazzi, chairperson of the EECOH.

April is Eastern European Month in Ohio, which is home to more than one million people of Eastern European origin or descent. Tombazzi and Boston thought it was important to promote Eastern European communities and events throughout the Buckeye State.

Eastern Europe commonly refers to countries east of Germany, Austria, and Italy, often including Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Definitions vary, sometimes including the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Balkan nations (Serbia, Croatia, Albania), or Caucasus countries (Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan).

However, the Magyar Club not only plans to continue the highly successful event as a tribute to Dave Boston’s memory, but to promote the Eastern European heritage in the area.

“It’s important event to experience because a lot of people, especially young people, don’t know about their ethnic heritage,” Jim Boston said. “The Eastern European Heritage Experience helps bring all of the area’s Eastern European communities together to experience the food, their culture and to see some world-class ethnic folklore dancing.”

The Dayton Hungarian Festival Club Folklore Dancers and the Miami Valley Folk Dancers will be among the troupes performing at the EEHE.

During the Industrial Revolution, millions of Eastern European immigrants came to the United States for better living conditions, to find jobs and pursue the American Dream. They established their own churches, neighborhoods and opened businesses that made their enclaves self-sufficient. Dayton, Ohio was – and still is one of those ethnically diverse cities.

Boston added, “It’s not only the culture that’s important to the older generation, it’s important that we pass on that culture and history to our children and the younger generation.”

The sentiments of Eva Lazear, the President of the Magyar Club of Dayton, echoed Boston’s.

“All of us have ancestors that came from somewhere else,” Lazear said. “The Eastern European Heritage Experience is an opportunity for people – especially the younger generation to learn more about their heritage.

Lazear added, “The Eastern European Heritage Experience will be like seeing the area’s old ethnic neighborhoods come back together. The Eastern European community is not only important to America’s history, but to Dayton, Ohio’s history as well. I’d like to see each generation searching their roots and learning about their heritage.

“It will be a fun day of celebrating through different foods, entertainment and history.”