[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Festival for Germans from Russia in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

[Jerry Frank]

Forwarded from Horst Gutsche:
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Dear Folks,

I spoke with Sol Ruff, the chairman of this first big German Russian event 
in Medicine Hat yesterday and he told me that there were now well over 300 
registrations and it was expected that there would be at least 400 
participants.  You can still register for the event at the lower price 
until August 25th.  Please send your registration (with the funds, name and 
address and telephone as well as the name of ancestral village(s) in Russia 
to:  Festival for Germans from Russia (this is what the check should be 
made out to) and send to:
Teresa Parasynchuk, 145 Markwick Dr. SE, Medicine Hat, Alberta T1A 7V9.

Horst W. Gutsche


German immigrants and their descendants from the former Tsarist Russian 
Empire and from the former Soviet Union are being invited to a Festival in 
Medicine Hat on September 5, 6, and 7th, 2003.

Germans from Russia were one of the largest ethnic groups among the pioneer 
homesteaders in Southeastern Alberta and Southwest Saskatchewan. Some 
migrations of the group to this region of Canada began before the 
establishment of the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The major 
migrations, however, were between 1905 and 1914. During the 
Collectivization and Great Purge periods in the Soviet Union more people of 
German extraction fled to Canada. Again, after World War II, another small 
wave of Germans from Russia displaced by war, famine and oppression found 
their sanctuary in this region of Canada.

Today, estimates suggest that approximately 40% of Medicine Hatters are 
either first generation Germans from Russia or their descendants.

The purpose of the Festival is to share the story of a people''s migration 
that began in various German principalities, continued with the 
colonization of various Russian and Soviet regions, and came to a rewarding 
conclusion in Canada.

This gathering will include immigrants from the Volga, Polish and Ukrainian 
Volhynia, the Black Sea region, the Caucasus, Siberia, Crimea, Bessarabia, 
Romania, and many others, some of whom came here after a brief settlement 
in the U.S.A., especially in the Dakotas.

The weekend Festival, to be held in the Cypress Centre, includes plenary 
and breakout sessions that will cover genealogical information, 
sociological and historical backgrounders, personal experiences, 
entertainment etc.. The Keynote Speaker will be The Right
  Honourable Edward Schreyer, former Premier of Manitoba; Governor General 
of Canada; and Canadian High Commissioner to Australia. Another speaker 
will be Alexander Pfaffenrot, well-known lay missionary in Siberia as well 
as The Rev. Dr. John Moser Cobb who will be leading the worship service.

The sessions are designed for both experienced and novice students of their 
ethnic history. It will be an opportunity to hear and see the fascinating 
story of their forbearers.

The costs for the festival are as follows:

  All inclusive - Friday to Sunday (up to August 25) $50. *(after August 
25) $60.

  Saturday Banquet and Social only $25.

  *Includes Friday evening gathering event, Saturday Banquet, Sunday 
/brunch and coffee/lunch breaks.

  Festival for Germans From Russia - Contact List

  Phone No./ Email

Honourary Chairman: Otto Gross 403-545-6945

President: Sol Ruff 403-526-7834 / solruff at telus.net

Vice President: A.J. (Tony) Giesinger 403-527-4866 /
  thegoose at telusplanet.net

Treasurer: Norm Emann 403-526-5720

Secretary: Teresa Parasynchuk 403-527-3678 / pchuk at telusplanet.net

Promotion: Ted Grimm 403-527-5645

Steering Committee: Lorna Veenstra 403-529-9327

Adolf Seiler 403-527-7841 / aseiler at telusplanet.net


Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
jkfrank at shaw.ca