Articles for author: Mark Plavetich

25 studenoga, 2025

Mark Plavetich

Croatian Embassy in Washington D.C. Celebrates the 1100th Anniversary of the Kingdom of Croatia

Washington D.C. – On Friday November 21, the National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCACF) hosted a distinguished evening reception at the Croatian Embassy in Washington D.C., commemorating the 1100th Anniversary of the coronation of King Tomislav, Croatia’s first king. The event was co-hosted by the Croatian Academy of America (CAA) and the D.C. Chapter of the Association of Croatian American Professionals (ACAP D.C.). The program was moderated by President of the CAA John Kraljić, and featured a panel of speakers who are Croatian professors in Croatian Medieval history: Dr. Tomislav Galović, University of Zagreb; Dr. Dragan Damjanović University

17 rujna, 2025

Mark Plavetich

Is Thompson healing a Small Nation through the Spiritual Revival Movement?

This summer has been very monumental for Croatia. On July 5, Croatian rock musician Marko Perković Thompson performed in front of a sold-out concert attended by over 504,000 people at the Zagreb Hippodrome, the largest and most attended ticketed concert in the world. The crowd came from multiple regions in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and from various countries in the Croatian diaspora. During celebrations of the 30th anniversary of Operation Storm, Sinj was also greeted with another spectacular concert by the patriotic singer on August 5 in front of 150,000 adoring fans clad in black t-shirts, berets, and Croatian red,

17 rujna, 2025

Mark Plavetich

Croatian Premium Wine Imports Showcases Heritage at Smithsonian’s EU State of the Arts Night

Croatian Premium Wine Imports Lana (Red shirt) and Matthew Ducharme (Black t-shirt) and NFCACF Mark (second middle with white shirt) and John Plavetic (white shirt on the first left) with Croatian Embassy officials: Luka Jušić (third), Goran Jutrisa (Middle with grey blazer), and Danijel Međan (blue blazer on the last right). Washington, D.C. – On Saturday, September 13, Croatian Premium Wine Imports, Boston-based distributor of boutique Croatian wines, proudly participated in the European Union Delegation’s “State of the Arts Nights” at the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. The event hosted by the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art in Collaboration with

1 srpnja, 2025

Mark Plavetich

Croatian American Organizations Join for a Momentous Weekend in Pittsburgh

Sv. Lovro Junior Tamburitzans of Steelton, PA performing at the CFU Junior Tamburitza Festival Pittsburgh was elated with a festive and eventful weekend from June 27 to June 29. The National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCACF) hosted its 32nd Assembly of Delegates in part with the 57th Annual Jr. Tamburitza Festival organized by the Croatian Fraternal Union (CFU). The assembly and the festival took place at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown. The weekend kicked off with Croatian Heritage Night at PNC Park, where the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off against the New York Mets. Despite the sporadic thunderstorms before

15 svibnja, 2025

Mark Plavetich

The Jovial Croatian Cardinal who Survived Communism and a Champion of the Gospels and Human Dignity

Catholics were astonished by the white smoke billowing from the smokestacks of the Sistine Chapel as the words “Habeum Papam,” which translates to “we have a pope,” were announced from around the world by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti. The conclave elected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to be the 267th Bishop of Rome, the “al-habbayit” or the father of the household prophesized by Isaiah. Cardinal Prevost has taken the name of Pope Leo XIV. Pope Leo XIV, a native of Chicago, Illinois, is declared the first American pope and member of the Augustinian order. Pope Leo XIV’s first words as pope

9 svibnja, 2025

Mark Plavetich

Prime Minister Plenković at Washington DC for the Inauguration of the Congressional Croatian Caucus

Washington – Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković addressed as guest speaker at the inauguration of the Congressional Croatian Caucus (CCC) for the 119th U.S. Congress at the Rayburn House Office Building at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, May 7. The inauguration was hosted by the Croatian Embassy in Washington D.C., where the Ambassador of Croatia, Pjer Šimunović, initiated the inauguration. Joining the Prime Minister were his ministers, including Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar and Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Grlić Radman. CCC Co-Chairs Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (D-CA) were officially inaugurated along with fellow Vice-Chairs Congresswoman Claudia

23 travnja, 2025

Mark Plavetich

What is the Congressional Croatian Caucus and why it’s important for Croatians?

On Wednesday, April 8, 2025, U.S. Congressman Dave Joyce (R-OH) announced the relaunch of the Congressional Croatian Caucus (CCC) for the 119th Congress as Co-Chair alongside Congresswoman Nanette Barragan (D-CA) and Vice Chairs Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Congressman Ted Lieu (D-CA). Congressman Joyce expressed his excitement in relaunching the CCC. “Croatian Americans continue to make critical contributions to our communities across America. This is especially true in Northeast Ohio, where roughly 15,000 Americans whose primary ancestry is Croatian reside, the fourth largest concentration of Croatians in the United States. I am proud to Co-Chair this Caucus and look forward to

28 ožujka, 2025

Mark Plavetich

An Embassy Evening with Croatian Classical Music

Washington DC: On March 26th the Croatian Embassy of in the nation’s capital held a concert performed by world renowned pianist Mia Elezović, violinist Vlatka Peljhan, and their guest, tenor John A. McGuire. The concert was well attended by the local Croatian Americans in the DC area, Ambassador Pjer Šimonović, and special guests from the Apostolic Nunciature. Wednesday evening filled the embassy with delightful and intriguing performance of classical music by Croatian composers like Dora Pejačević and Dubravko Detoni. The musicians also played masterpieces by Beethoven and Brahms. Mia Elezović is a well-known pianist in the European and world music

25 ožujka, 2025

Mark Plavetich

[AUDIO ON SPOTIFY] Meet Croatian American Mayor Mario Kranjac Running for the NJ Governor

On Friday March 21, Croatians Online’s Mark Plavetic interviewed Republican New Jersey Governor candidate, Mario Kranjac. The topics covered his running for governor, his race in the Republican governor primary, Croatian roots, Croatian public relations and his position on President Trump. Since 2016, Mayor Kranjac has served as mayor for Englewood Cliff New Jersey as a political outsider and changing the status co and improving the quality of life, fight against corruption, improving public infrastructure, lowering government waste spending, and taxes. Before running for Mayor, he founded both a successful law firm at Wall Street New York and a venture

4 ožujka, 2025

Mark Plavetich

U.S. Temporary Hold on Croatia and the EU’s response will determine the fate of US-Croatian relations

Economic relations between the United States and Croatia are being tested due to the recent order coming from the White House. Croatia’s membership path in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been temporarily blocked. The temporary halt was ordered due to tariff conflict between President Trump and the European Union (EU). Croatia began negotiations with the OECD back in 2022. Since then the membership process has been doing very well in to reach at least 19 out of the 25 committee bodies and was expecting to complete the technical portion of the accession. The OECD membership process