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PolkaFest - Vinobrani 2026
A Celebration of Czech, Moravian and Slovak Culture and Folklore
LaMargarita Ranch & Vineyard in Santa Margarita, California on Sunday 6 September 2026
Dear Slovaks and Czechs of California,
We are delighted to invite you from the heart to our family’s PolkaFest 2026 — A Celebration of Czech, Moravian and Slovak Culture and Folklore at LaMargarita Ranch & Vineyard in Santa Margarita, California on Sunday 6 September 2026. This year we will have our first harvest of Sangiovese grapes from the vineyard we planted 3 years ago. Please join us in celebrating this joyful occasion.
LaMargarita Ranch is our private family ranch located in the beautiful countryside of San Luis Obispo County in the Paso Robles/San Luis Obispo area.
The address is: 4635 Las Pilitas Rd, Santa Margarita, CA 93453
Please see attached program and invitation.
A few words about our family and the motivation for this occasion:
I was born in Canada into a dynamic Czechoslovak emigrant family. My father, Štefan, was born in Košice in 1940 and emigrated to Canada in 1968. He met my mother, Anka, a Canadian/Slovak endocrinologist at Sts Cyril and Metod Slovak Catholic Church in Toronto in the early 1970s. My maternal grandparents, Otakar and Anka (Širek), met during medical school in Bratislava in the 1940s prior to emigrating to Canada in 1950.
Since my birth, my parents, grandparents, and extended family in North America and Europe transmitted to me a deep love and pride of my Slovak culture and identity. I have very fond memories of attending the annual Odpust at the Slovak Mission of Our Lady of Seven Dolors in Cambridge, Ontario. This mission property, owned and operated by the Slovak Jesuits, was a focal point and community base for immigrant Slovaks and Czechs living throughout Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois and Wisconsin. Throughout the year there were numerous parties, celebrations, dances and picnics that I remember fondly.
As a teenager, I spent summer holidays with my cousins in the villages near Košice, Stará Ľubovňa, and Bratislava. In 1992, I attended the World Festival for Slovak Youth in Martin, Slovakia. To this day, I remember how amazing the live folk-music was. Another cousin introduced me to Prague. Those times with my cousins were some of the best times of my life where I felt at home and alive!
Finally, as a university student in Montréal, Québec in the 1990s, I danced with Širava, a folkdance group comprised of Slovaks, Czechs and Québecers who loved our shared culture. I have wonderful memories of our practices on Friday nights, as well as our performances and road trips to events in the US and Canada.
In view of these privileged experiences and upbringing, I feel a desire to live out and celebrate our beautiful shared culture and folklore. In these modern times in America I am so proud and grateful for my Slovak heritage. Further, I would say that a love of internationalism defines me and my family. My wife Patricia is from Guadalajara, Mexico; our beloved children Jan, Ivana, and Nataša are truly global citizens. We strive to live out and keep the goodness of what our fathers and forefathers gave us.
So, this is the motivation for PolkaFest: to celebrate and create a new and lasting experience on the canvas of our rich cultural heritage at LaMargarita Ranch & Vineyard. We hope you can join us for what promises to be a wonderful day!
Warmly,
Jan & Patricia Eperješi with family
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