The Croatians of New York & Los Angeles 

June 11, 2008

The Eurocup is back!

For some, soccer is just a sport.  To others, soccer is life.  This rang true this past Sunday, June 8, 2008 at Scorpio's Cafe Bar in Astoria, New York.  The heat wave on the east coast did not stop hundreds to pack the cafe to watch the live action between Croatia and Austria.  Croatia took the win with a goal by Luka Modrić during the first half.  The next Croatia game is scheduled for Thursday, June 12, 2008 against Germany. 

Please check our calendar for more information on where to watch the game with fellow Croatians.

For more photos of the game, please visit our PHOTOS section, or visit the Syndicate Productions website as well.

For more information on Team Croatia during the Eurocup 2008, click here.

June 11, 2008

For all of you tambura lovers, it's that time of year again: Tamburland Festival June 27-29, 2008.  Two of our lovely CNYLA members will be taking the road trip to Steelton, PA to enjoy the kolo and tambura groups for the weekend. 

To join them, please visit www.tamburaland.com for more information. 

May 30, 2008

After much anticipation, excitement and plenty hours without sleep, the CNYLA is back on the East Coast.  San Pedro, California, home to over 40,000 people of Croatian descent, hosted their annual Independence Day Celebration & Small Goals Tournament over this past Memorial Day Weekend.  Hundreds gathered from New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Phoenix, Toronto, and many more, for three days of Croatian heritage celebration.

The weekend kicked off with the Welcome Party held Friday night at the Croatian-American Hall in San Pedro.  An all ages event included the numerous invited kolo groups, chaperons, guests and locals to enjoy some drinks and have a bit of fun dancing to popular Croatian music.

After some very rare rainy weather on Saturday morning, the Second Annual Small Goals Tournament was a great success.  The Adriatic Soccer Club of San Pedro in conjunction with the Croatian Cultural Center organized the games. Teams from all over the country participated in two divisions. Division One included teams "Croatia” (Los Angeles), “Croat” (San Pedro), “Karlovacko” (New York ), “NK Dalmacija” (San Pedro), “Adriatic” (San Pedro), and “Croatia” (San Jose).  Division Two included teams “Croats” (Orange County), “Dalmatinac” (Rolling Hills), “Hajduk” (Rolling Hills), “Kumovi” (Los Angeles), “Mladi Cobani” (San Pedro), “Zadar”(San Pedro), “Jack iKola” (Los Angeles), “Domovina” (San Pedro), “Ludi Ljudi” (Los Angeles), and “Zrinski” (San Jose). 

Saturday evening's festivities included a Party Bus hosted by the Croatian Cultural Center from San Pedro to Orange County where everyone met in Newport Beach to celebrate the champions of the Small Goals Tournament. Mario Marovic, owner of the Landmark Steakhouse & Lounge, hosted over 200 young Croatians to special VIP entrances and drink specials all night.  The music played while the drinks were poured.  The Croatians took over once again.

Sunday started with a mass at Mary Star of the Sea Church in San Pedro with all the kolo groups as special guests.  A procession followed with all the kolo groups in their traditional costumes from the church to the Croatian-American Hall. 

Jack Baric, master of ceremonies, introduced Frank Politeo for the singing of the National Anthems.  Recognition was given to the following dignitaries: Mayor of Los Angeles, Mr. Antonio Villaraigosa; Councilwoman of Los Angeles' 15th District, Honorable Janice Hahn; Superior Court of Los Angeles, Honorable Judge Marlene Kristovich; President of the Croatian Cultural Center of Great LA, Ms. Alxious Bailey; President of American Dalmatian Club, Mr. Gojko Spralja; President of the Croatian National Association, Dr. Mirko Giaconni; and The Council General of Croatia, Mr. Ante Barbir. 

Following the opening ceremonies, the invited kolo groups performed some wonderful dances for all to enjoy.  The performances started with Hrvatska Ruza (Astoria, NY) which performed "stari splitski plesovi" followed by "Slavonija" by Kardinal Stepinac (New York, NY).  Hrvatska Loza (Chicago) closed the first half with "Zagorje." 

The second half  opened with "Istarski Plesovi" by Hrvatska Ruza.  As their second dance, Kardinal Stepinac followed with "Bunjevacko kolo " and K&T Croatia (San Pedro) performed "Madarski Hrvati." Hrvatska Ruza ended the ceremonies with their own interepreation of "Geni Kameni."  This special performance was a great creative combination of traditional dance steps with a modern kolo flare.  Congratulations to all kolo groups for doing an amazing job!!!

The CNYLA represented with their own table and proudly hung their banner for all to see.  Your board members handed out informational brochures and spoke to many people about our goals and future plans.  It was a great experience.  A special thanks to the Croatian-American Hall and The Croatian Cultural Center for supporting us!

The rest of the afternoon was filled with eating, music and dancing.  Bosko Ciklic with Tihomir & Suzie and "Grupa Zrinski" performed until dusk.  The live music combined with the hundreds of Croats in attendance, it felt like a genuine FESTA!  The celebration continued after the Street Party at The Croatian Cultural Center with a DJ and more dancing.

More photos of the weekend events can be found under our PHOTOS page.  Thank you to all who submitted to our slideshows including, Jenny Švorinić, Linda Špadina, Ivana Špadina, Damir Bailo, Brankica Orlić, Mariana Škara, Stefanie Goglia, Stanko Jordan, Damir Bailo, Tanja Zubović, Marie Gojanović, Bepo Zuzić, and Mate Zuzić.  

Also a special thanks to Kristijana Spajić and Ante Mlinarević for being the CNYLA's tour guides through Hollywood and Orange County.  Thank you for hosting us!

Last, but certainly not least, a special thanks to Alxious Bailey whom without her drive and dedication, the CNYLA would not have had as much fun as they did this weekend!

A little sunburn, a little dehydration, but a WHOLE lotta love.  Do druge godine San Pedro!

-Diane Kolanovic

P.S.

One more thing: Nice shoes!

(To all of you who know the meaning behind this--thank you for being such a great group of friends and making this Memorial Day one of the best years yet!) 

May 13, 2008

The annual Croatian Hall Street Party and Independence Day Weekend festivities will take place over three days starting May 23, 2008 in San Pedro, CA.  The weekend is expected to trump all other years in number of attendees and events.  Kolo groups Kardinal Stepinac (New York, NY), Hrvatska Ruza (Astoria, NY), and Hrvatska Loza (Chicago) are expected to perform. 

All of the CNYLA board members will be in attendance for the weekend.  We will be volunteering in conjunction with the Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles.  We would like to wish the president, our very own Alxious Bailey, and the rest of the executive board members, Danny Dabo, Kristina Jelenić, Kristijana Spajić, and Arlin Blažević, the very best for the weekend. 

Schedule of Events:

Friday, 23 May 2008
Welcome Party @ Croatian Hall 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM

Saturday, 24 May 2008
Soccer Tournament (Field of Dreams, San Pedro) 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tournament Party 7:00 PM - 2:00 AM (21+ only)

Sunday, 25 May 2008
Statehood Day "Street Party" @ Croatian Hall, San Pedro 12:00 PM (noon) - 10:00 PM
"Pobjeda" After Party @ Croatian Cultural Center 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM

For more information, please visit www.socalcroats.com, www.croatianculture.org, or check out the flyer below.

 -Diane Kolanovic 

May 5, 2008

The  NY Polet soccer team hosted their very first Dalmacija Kup on May 3, 2008.  NY Polet hosted H.N.K. Dalmacija Streetsville of Oakville, Canada to a Saturday tournament followed by a  dinner reception at the Croatian Center (Hrvatski Centar) in Manhattan.  Over 600 people attended the soccer game and banquet. 

Our very own Linda Spadina and Jenny Svorinic attended and reported back  to having a great time.  They were glad to be back at the Croatian Center enjoying a local gathering.  Both members felt like they were on the boat again.  Must have been quite a party!  The CNYLA would like to congratulate NY Polet on their successful event!

For more details of the weekend, an article can be found in the current Mother's Day issue of the Croatian Chronicle by Claudio Kolega. Please visit www.nypolet.com for more information and pictures of the event.

-Diane Kolanovic

May 2, 2008

The ball is rolling  for the Second Annual Young Croatians, Culture, and Networking Conference for 2009.  With such a great turn out this year, we are already planning for 2009!

After taking a survey during Convention 2008, all members and attendees voted the next conference should be on a cruise...again!  We are hard at work to find the best deals and best location.  Mark your calendars for something in February again.  Other than our California locals with sun all year round, a nice tropical break in the winter is always nice!

We plan on having a lot more events during the conference in 2009.  Some ideas are: kolo performances, guest speakers, a tambura jam session, and more fun-in-the-sun events.

Please feel free to e-mail any one of us if you have any new and exciting ideas.  All feedback is greatly appreciated!

We will post information as soon as we know.  Until then, enjoy the pics from 2008!

-Diane Kolanovic

April 30, 2008

Welcome to the new CNYLA.  Please take a look around the re-vamped website.

A special thanks to our friend Ivan Gudelj of Toronto who designed our new logo. 

Enjoy!

-Diane Kolanovic

April 30, 2008

On behalf  the Kolanovic and the Bussanich families, I would like to thank all our friends and members of the Croatian community (near and far) who extended their condolences in the passing of my brother, John Anthony Kolanovic.  We have been so deeply touched by all of your words, thoughts, and outpourring of hearts that I wanted to thank all of you personally. 

John kept a CNYLA pin from the last convention in his car. He was very proud of this organization.

In Memory of John Anthony Kolanovic
January 13, 1966 - April 16, 2008
Rest in peace big bro...I miss you so much.