ACTIVITIES & EVENTS

ACTIVITIES

The Rusin Association holds the following:​

    • Duchnovich Dinner

    • Rus’Kyj Den picnic

    • Holiday Hostina

    • Lectures and presentations

Our organization represents the Carpatho-Rusyn Community in Minnesota by participating in or sponsoring:​

    • Workshops, Lectures & Seminars

    • Tours of the Rusyn Homeland

    • Cultural Festivities in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin

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Rusin Association’s upcoming events!

Duchnovich Day Celebration
Saturday, February 7, 2026, 1:00 pm
St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral Parish Center
1701 5th St. NE, Mpls., MN 55413

1:00—Social 

1:30 Presentation followed by Q & A

Dinner to follow

Dr. Nicholas K. Kupensky will analyze Dukhnovych not only as a national awakener but also as a writer, one whose aesthetic draws upon the conventions of European Romanticism and American Transcendentalism. At the same time, he will explore what is distinctive about Dukhnovych’s poetics as an example of Carpatho-Rusyn Romanticism.

Dr. Kupensky is an associate professor of Russian and Foreign Area Studies at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. He has published on Carpatho-Rusyn, Ukrainian, and Russian art, history, and literature. He lectures at the Studium Carpatho-Ruthenorium Summer School in Prešov, Slovakia using an English language anthology of prose and poetry of Carpatho-Rusyn authors.

Dinner and Presentation – $50- members and household, $60 – non-members, $25—students 

Dinner – Featuring Carpatho-Rusyn cuisine: Holupbci – Cabbage Rolls, Pirohy – filled dumplings, Kolbasa, Cucumber Salad and a variety of desserts. Reservations required.

Presentation Only – $20—non members, $10—members

Tickets are available at

Https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/rusin-association-duchnovich-day-program-and-dinner–2026

or make checks payable to the Rusin Association and send to: Karen Varian, 11409 Lincoln Ct NE, Blaine, MN  55434

Payment must be received by January 28 to reserve your spot. Reservations received after this date may incur an additional charge and are not guaranteed.

For further information email us at rusinmn@gmail.com or call Karen Varian at 763 242 4898.

PAST EVENTS

Duchnovich Day Celebration, February 3, 2024

Successful Carpatho-Rusyn Family Research by Bill Tarkulich

  • What immigrant information is critical and how to discover it
  • How to identify and prioritize documents and resources which will yield the most important and useful results
  • Which major historical events are key to record discovery

Bill Tarkulich is of Carpatho-Rusyn and German descent. He has visited and exchanged much information with researchers, residents, and family in his ancestral villages in the easternmost borderland region of Slovakia. His work includes this area’s political, social, and military history. He has written several papers, delivered many presentations throughout the United States, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

Duchnovich Day Celebration – 2023

Carpatho-Rusyns Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by John Righetti

Saturday, February 4, 2023

Few nationalities have been assailed and demeaned, like the Carpatho-Rusyns, in the last 150 years, both in Europe and America. John Righetti spoke about the amazing story of these stateless people and the hurdles
they have overcome to survive. And find out what the future holds for them.

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Connecting the Living to the Dead (How You Might Be Related)

A Genealogy Presentation by Kim Johnson, Polly Walker, Tammy Dennis, and Eileen Jaszewski

Carpatho-Rusyn, Carpatho-Russian, Rusnak, Lemko, Ruthenian, Transcarpathia, Carpathian Mountains, Austro Hungary, Greek Catholic, Minnesota, Iron Range, Wisconsin, mn, wi, Presov, Greek Catholic Orthodox, Father Toth, Clayton, WI, Bramble, MN Cornucopia, WI, Chishlom, MN, rusin, association, genealogy, heritage, ethnic, history, traditionsSunday, October 16
St Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral Parish Center 
1701 5th St NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413

This presentation showed how to use genealogical tools in a real-time work session. It was of particular interest to those whose your ancestors may have come from the Carpatho-Rusyn villages of Stebnik, Chmelova/Komlosa, Becherov, or Regetivka, Slovakia. Attendees saw how the families of the early parishioners of St Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Minneapolis are intertwined.

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Body, Mind & Spirit: Our Carpatho-Rusyn Ancestors’ Approach to Health ​
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Guest speaker
Dr. Celia Hildebrand, DAOM, Lac
​Carpatho-Rusyn folk medicine perspectives, values and cultural significance.

Dr. Hildebrand is an assistant research professor at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona. She shared the story of how her maternal heritage informed a career that took her back to the Carpathian Mountain foothills to teach at the Uzhorod National University School of Medicine.
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Handout – Botanical Provenance of Traditional Medicines From Carpathian Mountains at the Ukrainian-Polish Border (Click here for more information)

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Freedom Seekers: The Story of My Carpatho-Rusyn Heritage From Galicia to the Iron Range of Minnesota

Link to recording (https://youtu.be/KsHEeKN2u8k)

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Interview with Slavo Mlynar, Mayor of Stebnik, Slovakia

Link to recording (