Young people revive Croatian heritage in region
- The Queen Helena Canadian-Croatian Cultural and Charitable Society in Kitchener is teaching children and teens Croatian folk dance, song and tambura music through rehearsals and its annual spring concert. - The group says it now has more than 70 performers across beginner, junior, intermediate, senior, young adult, parent and tambura ensembles, with older youth helping teach younger children. - The Kitchener society, founded in 1978, is part of a wider Canadian-Croatian folklore network that stages annual festivals and tambura events across eastern Canada. (kjfolklore.com)
Young people in Waterloo Region are learning Croatian songs, dances and tambura music through the Queen Helena Canadian-Croatian Cultural and Charitable Society in Kitchener. (cbc.ca) (kjfolklore.com) The group stages a spring concert each year after months of practice, giving children and teens a public performance to show what they have learned. CBC reported the event as a showcase for youth carrying traditions forward. (cbc.ca) Queen Helena says it was formed in Kitchener in 1978 to preserve Croatian heritage and strengthen cultural ties in the region. Its website says the organization has performed across Canada, the United States, Croatia and Europe. (kjfolklore.com) The society now lists more than 70 performers across beginners, juniors, intermediates, seniors, young adults, parents and a tambura combo. That structure lets children enter early and stay involved as they get older. (kjfolklore.com) Tambura is a traditional string instrument central to much Croatian folk music, and Queen Helena organizes both dance and music groups around it. The society says those ensembles perform with live accompaniment rather than treating music as a backdrop. (kjfolklore.com) The Kitchener group is also tied into a larger circuit. Queen Helena says it is an active member of the Canadian-Croatian Folklore Federation East, which organizes annual folklore festivals in May and TamburaFest events in November. (kjfolklore.com) (hkfsavez.com) The federation’s website says its 52nd annual Canadian-Croatian Folklore Festival is scheduled for May 15 to 17, 2026, in Hamilton. It describes the organization as promoting Croatian culture in Canada through traditional music and dance for more than 45 years. (hkfsavez.com) That wider network helps explain why local rehearsals in Waterloo Region carry weight beyond one concert. Children learning steps and songs in Kitchener are also being prepared for a community calendar that stretches across Ontario and links generations of Croatian Canadians. (cbc.ca) (hkfsavez.com)
