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Slovenian Catholic Center
Lipa folklore dance group
This Young Adult Group was formed in the 1960’s at St. Stephen Parish as an activity for young adults who were of high school and college age. Lipa is the Slovenian word for Linden Tree whose leaf is one of the symbols associated with Slovenia.
The purpose of the Group is to provide enjoyable wholesome activities for our teenagers while simultaneously teaching them about Slovenian traditions including religious traditions. It is for this reason it was associated with the St. Stephen Catholic Church and not one of the secular Slovenian organizations.
This organization was moved to the Slovenian Catholic Mission after we lost St. Stephen parish. This group participates in service projects for the Parish on a regular basis. They serve at the monthly benefit dinners and help clean tables after these events. Many of our Parish liturgies use escorts in Slovenian costume. The young adults in the Lipa Folklore Group provide this service. They perform for free at many of the monthly benefit dinners.
They also help in the dance instruction of the younger children in the Slovenian School. The Lipa Young Adults Folklore Group also participates in the Christmas Around the World presentation at the Museum of Science and Industry. They are key presenters of Slovenian religious customs focused on Christmas, New Year and Epiphany holy days. These presentations are done for the general public and no cost to the Museum of Science and Industry. The proceeds from one of the monthly benefit dinners is used by the Center to defray the costs of funding their activities. This includes an annual Lock-In, reimbursement for costumes they use in their Folklore activities and the cost of renting buses to transport them to a couple of events each year where they perform for the general public. These events include going to other Slovenian Catholic Parishes in other parts of the USA and Canada to meet with other young adults.