70th Hungarian Festival Draws Record Crowd as Cleveland Celebrates 75 Years of Scouting
A record crowd of nearly 3,900 people gathered at German Central Park in Parma on September 6, 2026, for the 70th annual Hungarian Festival, making this year’s celebration a tremendous success.
Presented by the American Hungarian Friends of Scouting, Ohio’s largest Hungarian festival brought together the Greater Cleveland Hungarian community and friends from near and far to celebrate Hungarian culture, heritage, food, music, and dance—and to mark 75 years of Hungarian scouting in Cleveland.
With beautiful weather setting the stage, attendees enjoyed traditional Hungarian specialties, including chicken paprikas, stuffed cabbage, grilled pork, Hungarian sausages, lángos, chimney cakes, and crepes. Café Budapest served tortes, pastries, strudel, and espresso, while live music throughout the day featured the Fészer Band from New Jersey and Harmonia, led by Walt Mahovlich.
The Hungarian Scout Folk Ensemble and Cleveland’s Hungarian scout troops were among the afternoon’s highlights, performing in colorful Hungarian folk costumes and inviting festivalgoers to join in traditional folk-dance lessons. Families also enjoyed children’s activities, a live wild animal show, a book fair, folk art and crafts, and more. The celebration continued into the evening with an open Hungarian folk-dance party.
Celebrating 75 Years of Scouting
The festival was especially meaningful this year as Cleveland’s Hungarian scouting community celebrates 75 years of scouting. A wonderful exhibit of pictures from the past 75 years was on display in the main hall. The first Hungarian scout troop in North America was established in Cleveland in 1951. Today, nearly 200 Hungarian boys and girls participate in scouting throughout Northeast Ohio. We were honored to welcome Stephen Vajtay Jr., President of the Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris.
All proceeds from the Hungarian Festival support the activities of Cleveland’s Hungarian scout troops and help preserve Hungarian language, culture, traditions, faith, service, and leadership for future generations.
Thank You!
The American Hungarian Friends of Scouting extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this year’s festival possible—especially those who attended and the many volunteers who donated their time and energy.
Your support helped make this milestone celebration a wonderful tribute to 70 years of the Hungarian Festival and 75 years of Hungarian scouting in Cleveland. The festival was supported by a generous grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.
Köszönjük, Cleveland!
Julianna Gulden
Pictures from the 2026 70th Hungarian Festival can be seen here.
View here the 2-1/2 minute Spectrum News report about the 70th Hungarian Festival.
Watch here the 3-1/2 hour Bocskai Radio/TV livestream of the 70th Hungarian Festival.
A report, pictures and video from the 70th Hungarian Festival on the ClevelandPeople website.
