We invite you to celebrate the Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse, Ziua Iei 2023
Initiated and coordinated by La Blouse Roumaine, the first Universal Day of the Romanian Blouse was marked on June 24, 2013, with the traditional celebration of Sanziene (Romanian Midsummer Fairies) and the feast of Saint John.
For this special occasion, an exhibit of 'Queen Marie of Romania' historical photographs, an irresistible ambassador of Romanian history and folk art, created by Professor Pepene Nicolae, historian, and director of Brasov County Museum of History, will be featured at the ROCO Chicago Community Center Saturday, June 17, 3 pm to 5 pm, and Sunday, June 18, from 2 pm to 4 pm.
The exhibit has traveled internationally, to Ireland, Dublin, Canada, Montreal, and Quebec in 2018; was presented in the US at the Alliance Gala Awards 2018; in Philadelphia, Chicago, and St. Paul (Minnesota) in 2019; in Brussels, on the occasion of the "Open Day" event at the European institutions in Brussels, in 2019; in Paris, as part of the "For the love of beauty" Festival, on October 13, 2019; at the Maryhill Museum of Art in 2020, and recently in Romania, between March and April 2023, at the National Museum of History of Moldova.
Saturday, June 17, from 3 pm to 5 pm, to complement the exhibit, ROCO is organizing a Sezatoare coordinated by Andra Peca.
Sunday, June 18, from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, we invite you to a screening of the Documentary film "Maria Inima Romaniei."
The documentary, directed by Trevor Poots, tells the story of a significant era in Romanian history, seen from the perspective of Queen Marie, a woman at the heart of the struggle to bring about the Great Union of 1918 and the creation of modern Romania. Alongside unique pre-World War I footage from 15 archives abroad, which had been specially colorized, the film also includes the Queen's voice, rendered as close to reality as possible, with the 'noises' produced by the technology of the time removed.
