By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Bukovina Society of the Americas, headquartered in Ellis, will host its first Bukovinafest in five years Sept. 15 to 17.
There is no charge for the program, but participants need to pre-register by Sept. 1 and prepay for meals.
Events Friday night will be at the Bukovina Society Museum in Ellis. Events on Saturday and Sunday will move to the Venue, 2704 Vine in Hays.
"We're trying to instill in people to follow their history and where they are from," event organizer Guy Windholz said.
Bukovina was the eastern-most land of the Austrian Empire, which is now now divided between Romania and Ukraine. Lutherans from the Rhine-Palatinate and Württemberg in Germany and Catholics from the Bohemian Forest of Austria (now in the Czech Republic) migrated to Bukovina to farm and work in the glassworks, according to the Bukovina Society website.
Members of those German-speaking communities eventually migrated to Kansas. About 70 families chose Ellis as their destination during a span of 15 years beginning in 1886.
Most of the individuals were farmers, some sewing hard winter wheat into their pant legs to carry to the United States. Some of the first immigrants lived on the plains in dugout houses.
Sharing a language and similar culture, some of the families from Bukovina intermarried with Volga Germans, who also settled in Ellis County.
The Bukovinafest invites people from Ellis, other areas of the United States and settlements as far away as Canada and South America to learn about their cultural history and genealogy, Windholz said. He said he is expecting about 50 attendees.
"The purpose of the festival is to just welcome those people and people who are interested in genealogy plus our speakers," he said.
The event will kickoff Friday with a genealogy workshop and tours of the Bukovina Museum, as well as optional tours of the Walter P. Chrysler and Ellis Railroad museums.
Friday and Saturday will include speakers and videos on Bukovinan history with dinners and social hours on both evenings.
You can see a full schedule and find a link to register on the Bukovina Society of the Americas' website.