Kurentovanje: A Slovenian Mardi Gras Festival In Ohio
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By Sarah McCosham
| Published January 16, 2024
Mardi Gras season is upon us and you don’t need to travel to NOLA to experience the excitement and exuberance of this event. Ohioans can celebrate Slovenian Mardi Gras at Kurentovanje, a wholly unique and one-of-a-kind festival in Ohio that captures the pure magic and unbridled spirit of the season! The 12th Annual Cleveland Kurentovanje is happening this February in the charming and historic St. Clair-Superior Neighborhood of Cleveland, and it’s one of the most unique and must-visit festivals in Ohio.
New Orleans, Louisiana, IS Mardi Gras (word nerds know this as metonymy). The history and vibe of this event is second to none, and attending an authentic NOLA Mardi Gras is one of those experiences that certainly belongs on everyone’s bucket list.
Happily, Ohioans need not book a trip to Louisiana to experience this iconic event; Kurentovanje in Cleveland, Ohio, is a multi-day “Slovenian Mardi Gras” festival, celebrating the end of winter and the beginning of spring.
Since 2013, this beloved tradition has been celebrated annually in Cleveland. For 2024, the festival spans Feb. 3-10, with exciting events happening each day that cover all aspects of Slovenian culture.
Activities during the celebration include a parade and 5K run, wine tastings and global cuisine, and guest lectures and live performances. The Slovenian Museum and Archives is also often open to visitors during the festival, too.
Food is, of course, a big part of any cultural celebration, and Cleveland Kurentovanje is no different! This festival also offers folks the opportunity to indulge in delicious treats, including Lectovo hearts, colorfully decorated honey cookies that are a beloved part of Slovenian cultural identity.
The festival’s unofficial emcee is the Kurent, a furry creature said to chase away winter to make way for spring.
The Kurents will make their first public appearance with a traditional “jump,” so check the schedule and clear your calendar to witness their arrival! Take note of their bold bells, said to produce a sound that helps chase winter from the region.
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Just like the “real” Mardi Gras, this week-long celebration culminates in a big, ole festival; the parade moves down St. Clair and attendees are encouraged to dress up in costumes of any kind to celebrate Mardi Gras.
Whether Kurentovanje chases away winter in Cleveland or not, one thing’s for sure: this Slovenian Mardi Gras festival in Ohio truly is something special. See you there!
Have you attended this Slovenian Mardi Gras festival in Ohio before? Kurentovanje captures the spirit of Mardi Gras and is one of those only-in-Ohio festivals you need to experience at least once!
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Rabbi Yehuda Leib (Leibel) Alevsky, longtime shliach to Cleveland, Ohio, who directed the local Chabad institutions for decades, passed away on Monday, 3 Iyar.
He was 86 years old.
Born on 1 Sivan 5699 in Chernigov, Ukraine, to Reb Chaim Boruch and Mrs. Sima Chaya Alevsky, his father was drafted into the Russian army to fight the Nazis when he was two years old, never to return. He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandfather, Reb Gavriel Kagan, a tomim from Lubavitch.
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After the war, the family joined the mass escape from Russia under false Polish passports. After time in a displaced persons camp in Germany and then in France, the Frierdiker Rebbe directed his family to move to Eretz Yisrael. He enrolled in Tomchei Tmimim in Lod, where he studied in the zal under the mashpia, Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Kesselman.
In 5718, after receiving the Rebbe’s permission to travel to New York, he arrived on his nineteenth birthday, Rosh Chodesh Sivan, and enrolled in Tomchei Tmimim at 770. He quickly distinguished himself and was among the first bochurim chosen for the Shivas Knei Hamenorah (“Kanim”) – a group of fourteen select students, seven in Chassidus and seven in nigleh, designated to deliver shiurim and pilpulim before the entire yeshiva.
Beginning in 5722 and until her passing in 5725, he merited to serve Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe’s mother, assisting her in numerous ways and spending many hours in her presence.
That same year, he became the first official employee of Tzach, the Lubavitch Youth Organization, under Rabbi Dovid Raskin. He ran the organization for a decade, taking responsibility for hakhalas kehillos, tahalucha, Shabbosim in outlying communities, shiurim, and the printing of the first four volumes of Likkutei Sichos. He also spearheaded the global Keren Hashishim campaign in honor of the Rebbe’s 60th birthday.
During those same years, he developed a close working relationship with Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Eizik Chodakov, the Rebbe’s secretary and chief of staff, whose yahrzeit also falls on 3 Iyar. In an interview with Anash.org, Rabbi Alevsky recalled how Rabbi Chodakov would summon him late at night during yechidus evenings and offer suggestions for Tzach’s activities. He initially did not always act on them – until he once found that the Rebbe himself referenced those same suggestions during a yechidus, making clear to him their true source.
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As the neighborhood of Crown Heights began to change, he also acted as a liaison for Tzach to city officials, securing grants and property to stabilize the community.
He merited rare closeness with the Rebbe, and on several occasions, he was called upon to drive the Rebbe to the Ohel. Recognizing the need for the Rebbe to have communication from the Ohel to 770, he arranged for a car phone to be installed in the Rebbe’s vehicle—a luxury that cost $900 at the time—which the Rebbe utilized to send out hora’os. He also arranged for the permanent “No Parking” zone in front of 770 so the Rebbe’s car would always have clear access.
He married his wife, Devorah, daughter of Rabbi Shlomo Schneur Zalman Kazen, one of the Rebbe’s pioneering shluchim, in Cleveland on Chai Elul 5722. At the yechidus before the wedding, the Rebbe told the young couple: “Az ir vet machen lichtig arum eich, vet der Aibershter machen lichtig bai eich” – when you spread light around you, the Aibershter will illuminate your own space as well.
At the same time of their Chasuna, the Rebbe held a surprise farbrengen in 770, announcing the upcoming “Shnas Hakan” (150 years since the Alter Rebbe’s passing). The Rebbe had Rabbi Hodakov phone the wedding hall so the Chosson could repeat the Rebbe’s words to the assembled guests.
In 5727 (1967), during a yechidus for his 28th birthday, he asked the Rebbe if his mother and sister should leave Eretz Yisroel due to the looming threat of the Six-Day War. The Rebbe responded prophetically that there was no need to worry, as the war would be over in ten days.
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In 5732 (1972), he began his shlichus in Cleveland, joining his father-in-law in expanding Chabad activities in the city.
Over the following decades, he led the community and oversaw immense growth. He built a replica of 770 in Cleveland to serve as the headquarters for the Chabad activities there.
He organized groups of mekuravim who would travel together by bus to receive the Rebbe’s brochos by Sunday dollars.
During the events of Shemini Atzeres 5738 (1977), Rabbi Alevsky was instrumental in the efforts for the Rebbe’s health, helping to urgently bring a doctor to 770.
When the bank threatened to foreclose on the Chabad building in 5744, he flew to the Rebbe and submitted a detailed report on the situation. The Rebbe responded, “Azkir al hatziyun,” and within days the full amount was raised in what he described as an open miracle.
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He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Devorah Alevsky, and their children: Sarah Freedman – Bahia Blanca, Argentina; Chani Glitzenstein – Maaleh Efraim, Eretz Yisroel; Kaila Sasonkin – Akron, Ohio; Rabbi Chaim Boruch Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio; Miriam Greenberg – Solon, Ohio; Dinie Greenberg – Shanghai, China; Estie Marozov – Pepper Pike, Ohio; Rochie Sudak – London, UK; Rivky Friedman – Brooklyn, New York; and Rabbi Mendy Alevsky – Cleveland, Ohio.
The levaya will take place today in Ohio at 4:30 p.m. at the Waxman Chabad Center, followed by kevura at Anshe Sfard Cemetery.
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Three people were seriously injured after a car crash on I-90 at Eddy Road early Sunday morning, according to Cleveland EMS.
EMS told 19 News that paramedics responded to the I-90 West and Eddy Road for a car crash.
Paramedics took a man in his 60s in serious condition to Metro Health, a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s, both in serious condition, to University Hospital.
19 News has reached out to Cleveland Police for more details about the crash.
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This is a developing story. Return to 19 News for more details.
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