2009 was a big year for the Serbian Cultural Garden.

The First Annual Serbian Golf Outing was held on Saturday, July 11, to benefit the Serbian Cultural Garden.  Despite a rainstorm, 70 golfers were able to play nine holes at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course.  Almost 200 people attended a dinner that evening at Sterle’s, which included music and dancing and a silent auction.

Proceeds from the Golf Outing, dinner, silent auction and donations helped fund the new centerpiece of the Serbian Cultural Garden: an icon of St. Sava, Patron Saint of the Serbian People.  The icon was designed by Chris McConnell, a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  The bronze work was done by local studio Light Sculpture Works and the granite base and inscription was done by Marko Dimitrijevic, a Serbian immigrant and owner of Euro Stone and Tile.

The icon of St. Sava is now proudly displayed in the center plaza of the Serbian Cultural Garden and was officially dedicated on Monday, September 21.  Present at the dedication was Boris Tadic, President of the Republic of Serbia.  President Tadic paid a special visit to Cleveland at the invitation of Alex Machaskee, creator of the Serbian Cultural Garden.  President Tadic was greeted by over 100 local Serbians and toured the Garden and read the inscriptions on the busts of Bishop Njegos, Mihajlo Pupin, King Peter I and Nikola Tesla.  Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson met President Tadic at the Serbian Cultural Garden and presented him with gifts from Cleveland, including a miniature guitar from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Mayor Jackson and President Tadic also posed for pictures in front of the newly-dedicated icon of St. Sava.

2009 brought the permanent return of Tesla’s bust to the garden after a five month absence.  New plants, shrubs and trees were planted this year, including a Serbian Badnjak (Pin Oak) and Serbian Lipa (Linden) trees that now compliment other foliage from native Serbia.

We also had the first “Gourmet Dinner in the Garden,” when the Serbian Cultural Garden hosted the Batkovich family of 12 as their prize from the 2008 fall fundraiser at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church.

The Serbian Cultural Garden plans to hold the Second Annual Serbian Golf Outing on Saturday, July 10, 2010.  Additionally, a Serbian Film Festival is being planned for 2010.

Daniel Budin for the Serbian Cultural Garden organization

2009 Accomplishments:

• Completed and installed the new bust of “Maironis” (one of the three busts in the Garden)
• Carried out the annual Spring clean-up, planting and re-planting of flowers and bushes
• Maintained the flowers and the fountain through the year
• Held the Garden’s annual “appreciation and membership drive” picnic
• Participated in CSU’s “Oral History Project” for the Lithuanian Garden

2010 Plans:

• Clean up the bust of “Basanavicius” which has a “weeping” problem which is causing a discoloration of the base of the bust
• Carry out tuck pointing of the upper level stone structures
• Fix/reconstruct the balusters of the balcony on the upper level of the Garden
• Hold the Garden’s annual “appreciation and membership drive” picnic

Roman Zorska, Primary Delegate, Lithuanian Garden

Monthly meetings from January through December: Making Garden renovation plans.

June 6th: Annual “Talgud” at the Garden.  Nine volunteers worked diligently for three hours planting nine flats of begonias.

June 28th: Võidupüha-Jaanipaeva celebration; see photo of program for details

December: Holiday decorations were placed in the Estonian Garden

Plans for 2010: Renovate the Estonian Garden

Erika Puussar, Primary Delegate, Estonian Cultural Garden

Talgud participants on June 6, 2009

June 28, 2009 program for Võidupüha-Jaanipaeva celebration

Participants at June 28, 2009 Võidupüha-Jaanipaeva

Epic poem source for Flame sculpture in Estonian Garden

Restoration plan for Estonian Garden

Renovation Solicitation November, 2009

Restoration brochure--page 1 of 2

Restoration brochure--page 2 of 2

The India garden organized or participated in the following events in 2009:

Mother’s Day Peace Party

On May 10, 2009, the India Garden hosted the second annual Mother’s Day Peace Party at the garden site from 2 to 4 PM.  The event was co-sponsored by Cleveland Peace Action, and Women Speak Out, highlighting the origins of Mother’s Day as a symbol of peace against the backdrop of war.  The event also paid tribute to India Garden delegate Vijaya Emani, who died in a tragic automobile accident earlier in the year.

The event featured Sherrie Tolliver of Women in History who portrayed Rosa Parks, highlighting the link between Mahatma Gandhi and the civil rights movement.  Attendees were treated to music, food, a chance to learn to make origami cranes (a Japanese symbol of peace), and to have their photographs taken beside the Mahatma Gandhi statue.

Mahatma Gandhi Birthday

On October 2, 2009, the India Garden hosted a prayer session at the garden site at 6 PM to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 140^th birthday.  Children sang his favorite prayer songs, and read many of his famous quotes.  Several India community members shared their favorite stories about Mahatma Gandhi.

The event received prior publicity on local TV Channel 3, which aired a short segment about the India garden and Gandhi’s birthday during the evening news on Sept. 23.

Gandhi’s Relevance in Today’s Times

Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Rep. Marcia Fudge and community leaders Maurice Small, Greg Coleridge, Sudarshan Sathe and Indra Shah were the featured speakers at a public forum about Mahatma Gandhi’s relevance in modern times.  The event was held at 2 PM on October 3, 2009 at the Martin Luther King branch of Cleveland Public Library in observance of Gandhi’s 140^th birthday.   The India Garden, the University of Akron Gandhi Leadership Scholars, and the National Association of Asian American Professionals sponsored the event.

Attendees enjoyed a video about Gandhi’s life, a session of meditation, and lively discussions about Gandhian principles, followed by Indian food provided by area restaurants.

Maltz Musem Exhibit

The India Garden also participated in the exhibit entitled “A Celebration of Cultures” at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage held in December, 2009.

Clean-up and Maintenance

Weeding and clean up of the garden was done during several weekends in the spring, and mulching of the flower beds in May.  The annual cleaning and waxing of the Gandhi statue even attracted coverage in the Plain Dealer, with a photograph by Gus Chan published on Sept. 10.

Friends of India Cultural Garden Group on Facebook

The group currently has 107 members, and is used to share news and publicize events planned for the garden.

CSU audio project

Raj Pillai recorded about 30 minutes of audio for the CSU project; some clips are already available at the web site.

Adult Education Class

Raj Pillai spoke about the India Garden to students enrolled in Mary Hamlin’s class on the Cleveland Cultural Gardens (offered through Baldwin Wallace).

Fundraising

One more sponsor came forward in 2009 to underwrite the cost of the granite gate being planned for the India Garden.  Additional sponsorships are still needed to make the plans a reality.

Raj Pillai, India Garden Delegate   January 4, 2010

For the Finnish Garden, the main 2009 events and milestones were: