Croatians in Cleveland

The Cleveland Junior Tamburitzans was founded in 1959 and there are now 75 active dancers.

The goal of the CJT is to teach each child to dance and sing to traditional Croatian Music and to learn to play the traditional instruments of Croatia.

Tom Salopek is an expert tambura player and shares his knowledge and skills as Music Director of the CJT.

Katarina Lukacevic is a former member of Ivan Goran Kovacic, a premier tambura dance ensemble from Croatia, and she uses her experience to choreograph dance sets, teach dance and instruct vocals at the Cardinal Stepinac Croatian Home Cultural Center.

The Croatian Heritage Museum and Library
Located in the American Croatian Lodge Complex in Eastlake, Ohio

The main goals of the Croatian Heritage Museum & Library are:

• Commitment to the collection and preservation of Croatian history and culture source materials and artifacts.
• Commitment to the historical and cultural research of Croatians in the United States.
• Promotion of the fine arts of Croatian artist.
• Sharing the Croatian culture and history with the general public to promote mutual understanding through outreach programs in the community.

Submit your Cleveland Croatian organizations and resources.

Submit your Cleveland Croatian jobs, classes and other opportunities.

Why Croatia? By Croatian genealogist Robert Jerin
Jerin shares some things about Croatia, the Land of his Ancestors

Tell us about the music, food, holidays, traditions, costumes, language and other qualities that make Croatians so special.

Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal Tito. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands.

Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998.

(facts courtesy of CIA World Fact Book)