Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia in which pessimism and negativity are absent.
Tinker on the wall
A portrait of a tinker (right) has replaced the previous blizzard of ads (left) on a wall in Čadca, northern Slovakia. (source: XŠ Archive/Lucia Laurenčíková)
Unsightly billboards and adverts in public spaces are a big problem in many Slovak towns. In Čadca, northern Slovakia, a wall that was previously used to promote a bewildering array of services and products has been turned into art, writes The Slovak Spectator’s sister publication My Kysuce.
Local entrepreneur Igor Minarovič decided to forego the income from adverts on his wall in downtown Čadca and instead to invest in a painting that portrays a tinker, one of the oldest traditional trades in the Kysuce region.
Related: In Banská Bystrica, they beautified a bus stop with a painting, too.
Upcycled wedding dresses
Bride Servis sells upcycled wedding dresses in Banská Bystrica. (source: pxphotoart/Facebook/Nikoleta Čiliaková)
In Banská Bystrica, Nikoleta Čiliaková launched the Bride Servis project, which aims to upcycle wedding dresses. She started it earlier this year togther with her sister. Brides can buy or borrow any of its wedding dresses. Every day, the sisters receive two to three such gowns.
“In the beginning we had little material on offer, but now it is overwhelming and we have a wide selection,” Čiliaková said, as quoted by the TASR news agency.
Dresses that are too old or unsaleable are given away to women who propose ideas for how to turn them into garments that will feel new and different, and will serve more brides.
American Slovaks help Spiš pensioners
American Slovaks have recently helped older Slovaks living in Spišská Nová Ves. (source: Facebook/Američania slovenského pôvodu)
American Slovaks in Youngstown, Ohio, collected $3,000 for pensioners living in a retirement home in Spišská Nová Ves, eastern Slovakia. Ohio is one of several US states where many Slovaks settled in the past, and most American Slovaks living in Youngstown have roots in the Spiš region.
The collected sum will be used to purchase a lift for use by disabled pensioners.
American Slovaks in Youngstown have also supported Ukrainian refugees living in the Slovak town. They regularly support Spišská Nová ves, writes the Dobré Noviny website.
Here's more good news published by The Slovak Spectator:
We prepared a guide for those foreigners who would like to do sport in Bratislava. You can help us to improve it by suggesting great sports clubs that you know about in the city.
A Slovak exchange student is a star in Phoenix, Arizona. His height is not the only reason.
Architects from Copenhagen, Denmark, have a plan how to turn a Bratislava brownfield site into something beautiful: a new city district.
Two years after his death, actor Milan Lasica released a beautiful new song on November 1.
Bratislava erected its Christmas tree on November 2. Find out when it will be lit up.
CARTOON OF THE WEEK
Translation: I forgot about all the Smer scandals. What did they get me drunk with? (source: SME)
The new interior minister, Matúš Šutaj Eštok, has sacked the national police chief Štefan Hamran and suspended several police investigators and undercover operatives who had been working for years on corruption and organised crime cases linked to the Smer party. Smer was recently re-elected to government.
Šutaj Eštok is a former Smer member who switched to Hlas when former prime minister Peter Pellegrini set up his new party in 2020. Now the two parties have formed a coalition, and observers expect them to effectively re-merge.
A recent Sme daily cartoon caricatures the dizzying turn of events by depicting a blindfolded woman with a sword and a set of scales – representing justice –propping up a bar, drinking Fernet Eštok (a parody of Fernet Stock, a popular alcoholic drink).
You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: peter.dlhopolec@spectator.sk. Thank you!
