Saturday, May 11, at 14:00 - LNOĢ benefit concert „Mans pēdējais tango" („My Last Tango") with distinguished artists, opera meolodies and a tango mood., at the Long Island Church. World class accordionist Bill Schimmel revived interest in tango music in the USA. He is a specialist in Kurt Weill's music, a composer and played tango in the movie "Scent of a Woman". Lutz Wrath plays Carlo Antonia Testore's cello with famous orchestras and chamber music ensembles. For many years he has been the music director of the Washingtin Squere music festivals in New York. Laila Saliņš' multifaceted talent continues to delight us. Her very recent CD has Anee Sexton's poetry accompanied by the jazz ensemble Elevator Into the Sky. This will not be a traditional concert!. The evening will have a cocktail hour, hors d'oeuvres, a silent auction, socializing, and other surprises. Admission $30 with advance registration. Please reserve tables for 8 persons. $35 at the door. Young people and sudents $15. For reservations at Long Island call Aija: (516) 433-4137. All are invited. LNOĢ is the Latvian National Opera Guild - visit: www.lnogASV.org.

Monday, May 13, at 19:00 - Screening of the movie Dream Team 1935, at the Directors Guild of America, 110 West 57th Street (between 6th & 7th Aves.), New York, NY 10019. The film is in English and is about Latvia's basketball team at the 1935 European championships. “Dream Team 1935”, the latest film by the director and producer of Defenders of Riga, will be premiered in New York on Monday May 13, 2013,  at 7 pm. Based on true events, it tells the story of the first European Basketball Championship in 1935 in Geneva. All the leading European nations came to compete – each wanted the honor of being the first European champion. But to everyone’s surprise, an unknown team from a largely unknown country made it to the winner’s podium. An amazing true story of impossible odds, improbable heroes and an incredible moment in history. Filmmakers will be in attendance with Q&A to follow. Also attending the screening will be the Prime Minister of Latvia Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis. Watch the film’s trailer here: http://youtu.be/3DdPZQEjjLI and visit www.DreamTeam1935.com. Tickets $10, available at the door on the night. Please reserve now by RSVP by May 10 by email to: may13@latvia-newyork.org. Organized by the Honorary Consulate of Latvia in New York: www.Latvia-NewYork.org.

Sunday May 26 at 12:00 noon - Memorial Service at the Latvian Memorial Park cemetery, in the Catskills. There is also a candlelight service at dusk of the previous evening (Sat. May 25). For information visit: www.LatvianMemorialPark.org.

Sunday May 26, at 15:30 - New York Latvian Choir Spring Concert, at the Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" in the Catskills. Program will feature Music of the 2013 Latvian Song Festival (to take place in Rīga, Latvia). Guest choirs: the Rīga Business School Choir, the Montreal Latvian Choir Atbalss, plus singers from Toronto, Canada, soloists, kokle players and a chamber orchestra. Conductors:  Gints Ceplinieks, Andrejs Vītols, Māris Kristapsons, Andrejs Jansons, and Laura Padega-Zamura. Admission $25, students $10, children up to 13 free. There will be a dinner following the concert for $15 - make reservations by May 20 at tel.(516) 319-9491 - and a social evening. Follow the event "NYLCC annual Spring Concert" on Facebook: . For concert and other information write NYLatvianConcertChoir@yahoo.com, visit: www.NYLatvianConcertChoir.org, and follow the "New York Latvian Concert Choir" page on Facebook: . This concert made possbile by the Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of New York, private donations and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.

Friday, Jun. 14 - National Day of Mourning in remembrance of tens of thousands of Latvians deported on this day from their homeland to prison camps in Siberia by occupying Soviet forces in 1941. (See also March 25, July 4 and the first Sunday in December.)
Church services will be held at 19:00 at the Long Island Church.

Saturday, June 22, at 16:00 - St. John's Day/Midsummer night Celebration at Priedaine, NJ. Celebrants will be welcomed starting at 4pm. Program information to follow. For more information and directions visit www.Priedaine.com. Follow the "New Jersey Latvian Society Priedaine" page on Facebook: .

IN RĪGA, LATVIA: From Sunday June 30 to Sunday July 7 - The XXV Latvian Song Festival and XV Dance Festival. Event and ticket ordering information to be available at the beginning of 2013.

Thursday July 4 - In Latvia this is the National Day of Mourning for those who perished in the Nazi Holocaust. Officially the day is called the "Remembrance day for Jewish genocide victims" (in Latvian "Ebreju tautas genocīda upuru piemiņas diena"). On this day in 1941 occupying Nazi-German forces burned down the Great Choral Synagogue in Rīga. (See also March 25, June 14 and the first Sunday in December.)
In the U.S.A. this day is celebrated as Independence Day (declared in 1776).

New York Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" in the Catskills summer program for July through August

For information and registration visit www.KatskiluNometne.org or www.NYDraudze.org and click on "Nometne".

Regular children's camp "NOMETNE" periods:
For children speaking Latvian:
1st period: from Sunday July 7 to Saturday July 20;
2nd period: from Sunday July 21 to Saturday August 3;
For children who speak little or no Latvian and need to learn it:
Language period: from Sunday August 4 to Saturday August 17.

"ĪKŠĶĪŠU" (" Little thumbs" For children ages 2-6 ) periods:
For children speaking Latvian:
A-week: from Sunday July 7 to Saturday July 13;
B-week: from Sunday July 14 to Saturday July 20;
C-week: from Sunday July 21 to Saturday July 27;
D-week: from Sunday July 28 to Saturday August 3;
For children who speak little or no Latvian and need to learn it:
Language week: from Sunday August 4 to Saturday August 10.

Seniors week: from Sunday August 11 to Saturday August 17.

From Sunday August 18 to Sunday August 25 - "3 x 3" Seminar camp, at the Latvian Church camp "Nometne" in the Catskills. Lead organizer and contact: Helēna Vīksniņa, tel.(202) 829-6868. For information visit: https://sites.google.com/site/3x3katskili/file-cabinet. Follow updates about the group "3x3 Katskills" on Facebook: .

Appeals, notices and news

Help build a new Dining hall (in Latvian "Ēdam zāle")
for the Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" in the Catskills!

The current Dining Hall at the Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" in the Catskills, built in 1956, has served many generations of Latvian-Americans but the time has come to build a new dining facility. The owner of the camp, The Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of New York has, after much planning and discussion, decided on a plan to build a new hall on the site of the old one. This picture is an artist's rendering of the new dining hall, or "Ēdam zāle" as it is called in Latvian. Please consider donating generously so the beautiful Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" can continue serving Latvian people, young and old, for many more generations to come. Please visit: www.nydraudze.org and click on the fundraising logo pictured above where you will find plans, status and other information about this project.

Donate for the new Pastor Richards Zariņš Hall at the New York Latvian church camp "Nometne" in the Catskills!

The Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church of New York is asking, from you personally, and from your local community - organizations and individuals – to support the construction of the new dining hall at the congregation's church camp "Nometne" in the Catskills. The new building will be named in honor of the congregation's pastor for many decades - Richards Zariņš (b. 1913 – d. 2006).

Those less familiar with the work of the Church camp "Nometne" may be forgiven for thinking that it serves mainly New York Latvian congregation members. So let us emphasize a few facts, which will testify to how much the Latvian Church Camp "Nometne" has given to all of North America's Latvian community.

1. For the last several decades about 75% of "Nometne"s campers come from families outside the New York Latvian congregation. While it's true that many of them are fromj the northeast USA, butmany also come from the midwest, the west coast, from Canada and even from other countries. In other words, only 25% of the “nometņotāji” (i.e. "the campers") are New York congregation members.
In the 55 years that camp "Nometne"has been in existence, over 10,000 children have spent one or more summers bērnu ir pavadījuši vienu vai vairākas vasaras Kaskiļu Nometnē. Tur tie bauda ne tikai vasaras priekus: svaigo gaisu, sportus, peldēšanās, dziedāšanu pie ugunskura un plašas iespējas iegūt jaunus draugus – kaut tās lietas ir svarīgas, – bet arī latvisku izglītību un audzināšanu - valodā, ticībā, vēsturē, un kultūrā.
2. Daudzi Nometnes “absolventi”, pieradināti pavadīt savas vasaras kopā ar latviešu draugiem, turpina savu latvisko izglītību vasaras vidusskolās, piemēram, Gaŗezerā, kur apmēram puse audzēkņu pēdējos gados ir bijuši Katskiļu Nometnē. Katskiļu Nometne nav Gaŗezera sāncense, bet palīdz sagatavot tai vidusskolas skolēnus.
3. Katskiļu Nometnes absolventi dzīvo pa visu Ziemeļameriku, citur pasaulē, un pat Latvijā, kur daudzi no tiem palīdz uzturēt un stiprināt latviešu sabiedrību un organizācijas savās dzīves vietās.
4. Nometne notiek arī 3x3 nometnes, LELBA Draudžu dienas un citi plašāka mēroga sarīkojumi. Pa vasarām tur arī atpūšas vecāki ļaudis.

Līdz šim Ņujorkas draudze nav griezusies pie plašākas sabiedrības, lai uzturētu savu Nometni. Draudze ir lepna, ka tā ir spējusi līdz šim segt izdevumus no dalību maksām un ar labvēļu ziedojumiem. Tagad tā griežas ārpus ierastā loka, jo jaunā Nometnes Ēdamzāle izmaksās $1,300,000. Dzirdot tādu summu, varētu iedomāties, ka Ņujorkas draudze ir zaudējusi saprātu, un ceļ kādu pārmērīgi lielu, plašu un ārkārtīgi greznu ēku. Tā tas nav. Veca ēka bija labota, remontēta un paplašināta vairākkārt, bet bija pienācis punkts, kad to bija pilnīgi jāatvieto. Talcinieku loma Nometnes uzturēšanā un atjaunošanā vēl joprojām ir ļoti nozīmīga, bet ar talkām vien nevar visu paveikt. Jauno Ēdamzāli sadārdzina vajadzība apmierināt būvju un ugunsdrošības noteikumus, kā arī prasības no Ņujorkas štata veselības un vides konservācijas departamentiem. Šās prasības ar katru gadu ir palikušas stingrākas. Katskiļu kalnos ir bargas ziemas. Kaut Ēdamzāli pa ziemu nelieto, tai ir jābūt pietiekami izturīgai no jumta līdz pamatiem, lai tā kalpotu uz vairākām paaudzēm.

Līdz šim ir savākta puse no vajadzīgās summas. Varētu likties, ka būtu bijis saprātīgāk draudzei gaidīt, kamēr tika savākti visi vajadzīgie līdzekļi pirms būvdarbu sākšanas. Bet pieredze ir rādījusi, ka indivīdi un organizācijas kautrējas ziedot ja pastāv iespēja, ka plāni mainīsies un nauda varētu tikt novirzīta citām lietām. Raizējās arī, ka notecēs saņemtās būvatļaujas un valdība varētu pieņemt stingrākas prasības, kas izmaksas vēl sadārdzinātu. Tādēļ pagājušā rudenī veco ēku nojauca un tās vietā sāka celt jauno. Iztrūkstošās summas Ņujorkas draudze financēja izņemot hipotēku no Klivlandes latviešu kredītsabiedrības un ar aizņēmumiem no draudzes interniem fondiem, kas rezervēti citiem mērķiem. Bet tagad jaunā Ēdamzāle patiešām ceļas un tā būs gatava šīs vasaras Nometnes sezonai. Tagad variet būt droši, ka visi ziedojumu patiešām tiks lietoti jaunās Ēdamzāles būvju izdevumu segšanai. Draudze uzticas latviešu sabiedrībai, ka tā sapratīs Katskiļu Nometnes vajadzības un neturēs pretī Ņujorkas draudzei savu uzņēmību iet drosmīgi uz priekšu un neatlikt darīt to, kas patiešām bija jādara, lai nodrošināt, ka Katskiļu Nometne turpinās kalpot nākotnes latviešu jaunatnes paaudzēm.

Atbalsts Katskiļu Nometnei pilnīgi sakrīt ar latviešu sabiedrības un organizāciju sūtību veicināt latviešu jaunatnes izglītību un audzināšanu. Ņujorkas draudze cer uz Jūsu atbalstu un tā arī cer, ka Jūs varēsiet pārliecināt Jūsu vietējās organizācijas Nometnei izpalīdzēt. Laipni lūgts katram indivīdam un katrai organizācijai pēc labākās apziņas ziedot savas iespēju robežās. Ja kāda organizācija, grupa, ģimene vai indivīds ziedotu ievērojamāku summu, tad draudze apsvērs nosaukt jaunā Ēdamzālē kādu istabu vai nozīmīgu ēkas sastāvdaļu ziedotāja vārdā.

Visi ir laipni lūgti piedalīties Katskiļu Nometnes jaunās Ēdamzāles iesvētīšanā un formālā atklāšanā šī gada 18. jūnijā. Skat. augstāk kalendārā pie šī datuma, vai noklikšķiet šeit. Informāciju par šo sarīkojumu, kā arī ziņas un foto attēlus par jaunās Ēdamzāles celšanu variet redzēt draudzes tīmekļa vietnē www.NYDraudze.org.

Cerībā, ka Jums un Jūsu vietējā sabiedrībā būs vēlmes ziedot jaunai Katskiļu Nometnes māc. Richarda Zariņa zālei, darām Jums zināmu, ka ziedojumus variet ērti nokārtot elektroniski caur ir draudzes tīmekļa vietni www.NYDraudze.org. Ja tomēr vēlaties nosūtīt ziedojumus "tradicionālā" veidā, tad norādām, ka čeki rakstāmi uz vārda “Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of NY” un ir nosūtami uz draudzes kanceleju: 4 Riga Lane, Melville, NY 11747, USA. Ja būtu jautājumi, variet sazināties ar kanceleju pa tel. (631) 253-3943, vai pa e-pastu: kanceleja@nydraudze.org.

A new edition of Paceliet balsis! Slavējiet! the church hymnal is now available

The Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of New York has published a new edition of Paceliet balsis! Slavējiet! (the title in Latvian means "Lift up your voices!") its popular Latvian church hymnal whose first edition came out in 1972. It contains 123 spiritual songs meant for use in schools and by young people, with sections on order of church services and explanations. Published by the Latvian Ev. Luth. Church of New York and edited by pastor Juris Saivars. The book has 188 pages and is bound in hard durable dark blue covers.
Dimensions: 6.5" x 4.5" x 0.7" (16.5cm x 11.5cm x 1.5cm).
Price $10.
The book may be purchased at the books stalls at the Yonkers Church and the Long Island Church.
You may also order the book from the Congregation's office. Cost: $10 + $4 shipping and handling for each book. Make checks payable
"Latvian. Ev. Luth. Church of NY" and send to:
4 Riga Lane
Melville, NY 11747.

The Congegration offers discounts for purchasers of larger quantities. For information please write kanceleja@nydraudze.org or call tel. (631) 253-3943. Office hours may be found at www.NYDraudze.org in the section "Adreses" on the bottom of the page.

Support common Baltic interests!

Pressure from Latvian-Americans is still needed to defend the interests of Latvia and Latvian-Americans before US government bodies. The following organizations are taking the lead in this important work.
The American latvian Association (ALA) - www.alausa.org
The Joint Baltic-American National Committee (JBANC) - www.jbanc.org
and the Baltic-American Freedom League (BAFL) - www.bafl.com

The Victims of Communism memorial in Washington DC.

Please visit: www.victimsofcommunism.org