"Island of Hope"

By Raritan Valley Slavic Cultural & Heritage Society
Raritan Valley Slavic Cultural & Heritage Society
P.O. Box 211, Raritan, NJ 08869
Contact: Maryanne Guenther
908-203-1820
For Immediate Release
Raritan, NJ., October 14, 2010—The Raritan Valley Cultural & Heritage Society will present a
dramatization about immigrant experience on Ellis Island, “Island of Hope,” at 11 a.m. on
Saturday, November 13, 2010, at the Manville Public Library, 100 S.10th Ave., Manville, NJ.
The program is free to the public, but advance registration is requested by calling Pat at 732-
752-3842 or Cathy at 732-469-3331 or emailing [email protected].
The program is a one-act multimedia production centering on the story of Leah, a ten-year-old
Russian Jewish girl growing up in a shetl at the turn of the 20th century, who has dreams of
going to school like all of her brothers. When her oldest brother deserts the Czar’s army,
Leah’s parents decide to escape with their children to America. After a long and risky journey,
they arrive at Ellis Island where Leah alone is detained. Now she must confront her biggest
obstacle and fear: what if she is sent back?
The Raritan Valley Slavic Cultural & Heritage Society was established to promote awareness of
and preserve the heritage of all Slavic cultures, including Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, Russians,
Ukrainians, Belarusyns, CarpathoRusyns, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bulgarians, Serbs,
Ruthenians, Macedonians, Wends, Montenegrins, Cossacks, Rusnaks, Lemkos, Lusatians,
Bohemians and Moravians. The Society presents book discussions, programs and a quarterly
newsletter highlighting Slavic history, customs and interests.