by Imran Ali and Peter de Graaf
Whangarei's first-ever Festival of Slavic Culture could be back again next year - but only if more sponsorship is found.
More than 400 people turned out for a taste of Eastern European culture at Forum North on Saturday, where they soaked up Russian food, tea
brewed in a traditional samovar, puppet shows, songs and folk art.
Performers and members of the Slavic community came from as far away as Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland and the Far North.
The event, a brainchild of Northland's Russian and Ukrainian communities, was the first of its kind in the region.
Co-organiser Galina Karmann said the success of the event was in part thanks to promotion in Russian community newspapers around the North Island.
Puppet shows, Gypsy dances performed by students from Auckland and Galina Lukho's traditional Russian songs were hugely popular.
A bus was organised to transport people from Auckland.
Among the crowd was the best-known Northlander of Russian ancestry, Whangarei Mayor Stan Semenoff.
He said it was good to see the district's Slavic community integrating with Kiwis while still preserving their own culture.
"When we swear in our new citizens, one of the things we tell them is that they shouldn't lose sight of where they've come from."
Mr Semenoff has Russian, Scottish and Maori ancestry. His grandfather jumped ship in Russia as a 17-year-old and arrived in New Zealand in 1916.
He made his way up the coast to Auckland, then took a scow to the Far North where he landed a job looking after the horses at Te Paki Station.
There he married a Maori woman who was working in the station kitchen.
Co-organiser Tanya Raykova, of Ohaeawai, said she hoped the event would break even and that it could be repeated next year.
"We'd love to do it again, but we'd need more sponsors and support," she said.
Slavic is the name given to many of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe, including Russians, Ukrainians, Poles and Croats.
