A Short History of Sljeme

In 1979 in the heart of southern Ontario, the largest colony of Croatians in the world, a realization of a dream, the formation of a folklore group, is brought to life in conjunction with the formation of the newly established Parish of Croatian Martyrs in Mississauga. The object of its establishment is to carry on and promote the Croatian culture within the youth of Croatian origin.

To symbolize its strength and presence in the Croatian community of Mississauga, it is named after the symbolic mountain overlooking the capital of Croatia, Zagreb - SLJEME. As the mountain has been a witness of the times gone by, it is hoped that Sljeme will have the same impact on the Canadian Croatian youth of Mississauga.

When the group began in 1979 it consisted of some 20 students and 1 teacher. The continued participation and hard work of the parents continues to pay off as membership continues to grow. Currently, the group has 170 students who are divided into 6 dance groups and 4 tambura groups. They are taught by 12 teachers and 4 assistants. All our teachers are former Sljeme students who love folklore and wish to continue to teach to new generations. Some of our teachers and second generations Canadians. The group becomes a member of the Mississauga Arts Council and the Croatian Folklore Federation of Canada. With the continued and rapid growth of membership, it was necessary to establish a "tambura" group to accompany the dancers. We are proud to state that today we have one of the best "tambura" ensembles.

We participate at various Croatian and international functions within the community and in fact were the only Croatian group from Ontario to participate at the International Folklore Festival in Drummondville, Quebec - the largest of it's kind in the world. We have participated at Canada Day festivities at Square One, as well as the Croatia day at Canada’s Wonderland. Our group has travelled to Croatia to four various festivals over the past 12 years. The first every Canadian Croatian Folklore Federation festival in Zagreb in 1997; to Dakovacki Vezovi in 2002; to the Canadian Croatian Folklore Federation festival in Split in 2004 and to Dakovacki Vezovi in 2007. Our students were received with enthusiasms wherever they travel through Croatia on their tours. During these tours, the groups performed in the big cities as well as in the small towns. They were a proud representation of the Croatians from the GTA. On the last tour, a reporter from the Croatian Heritage Foundation (Hrvatska Matica Iseljenika) accompanied the group on its 14 day tour. She wrote about the group in three different articles for its magazine Matis. We received praise on quality and professionalism of our teachers and how well the students performed. On at least 2 performances in 2007, the audience did not believe that our children were from Canada but from Slavonia. The group is planning another tour in 2010. Since our first tour in 1997, the group has strived to take the students on these tours for the students to better acquaint themselves with the country of their parents and grandparents birth.

For the past eighteen years we have been organizing and hosting the Croatian pavillion during Carassauga - the international festival of the city of Mississauga. During the three day event we strive to promote our culture through dance, song and music. At the same time giving our neighbours and friends an opportunity to admire our display of artifacts, sample our foods and taste our wines and beers.

In 1999, Sljeme was the organizer and host of the 25th Canadian Croatian Folklore Festival that was held at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga. This was a huge undertaking, but with the help of our parents and students it was executed to perfection.

In 2000, Sljeme also represented the Croatians of GTA by attending the Canadian Croatian Folklore Festival of East and West in Calgary, Alberta.

During the war in Croatia and Bosna and Hercegovina we gathered our forces to raise funds to assist those in need. In fact, we raised and sent some $70,000 for medical supplies. As well we filled and forwarded some 20 containers of food and clothing. This was hard work as many of you know but our parents were not intimidated by the hard work. To raise these funds, there were many bake sales held and an unbelievable amount of strudels made for these sales. Hours and hours were spent on collecting, receiving and sorting of clothing. Our parents did this out of their love for their and their parents homeland.

As the group is part of the parish of Croatian Martyrs in Mississauga, we have donated monies to our church as well as help in its improvements for the past few years. We are always present at the church’s major celebrations.

The friendships our students have made by being part of such a large and proud group have continued into their adult years and are still strong long after they have left the group. In many cases, their children are now members of Sljeme and the parents are proud members of the board of Sljeme to continue the great work their parents started. Through these friendships, there have also been a number of marriages among our members.

We are a proud member of the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce. We have also over the past year been proud volunteers at the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce Awards night and its annual golf tournament.

Over these past 30 years, our group has come a long way in its work and dedication to preserve our Croatian heritage for our children and grandchildren and this is due to the dedication of its parents to volunteer their time whenever they have been called upon. They have volunteered in preparing our concerts, making cookies and noodles for our bakes sales and sewing and upkeeing the numerous costumes that the group has.
On May 8, 2009, we received the Honourary Lifetime Community Service Award awarded by the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce. This award is dedicated to all our parents over the past 30 years for their hard work and commitment to the group and the Croatian Community.