By Cristina A. Bejan, Denver, CO, USA
Exactly one month ago, Friday June 3, 2022, was an auspicious day for us in the Romanian community of Colorado. It was the day the documentary film Via Transilvanica: The Road Ahead (a Tășuleasa Social and Mircea Gherase production) made its final stop on its world premiere USA national tour organized by the Romanian United Fund (RUF). That evening we gathered in a standing room only multipurpose bar and bicycle shop in Colorado’s happiest, hippest, and most outdoorsy city Boulder: Full Cycle Bikes and Colorado Multisport (near Denver). RAFA (Romanian American Freedom Alliance) brought this important film and message to the Rocky Mountains: an effort helmed by our fearless and tireless leader Cosmina Barbat. Barbat galvanized Romanian-Americans across our purple state and anointed a next tier of ambassadors for us to each reach out to our own networks by phone, by church, by Facebook, you name it. And everyone turned out that night for community and a shared sense of adventure!
Bringing Via Transilvanica to Colorado made the utmost sense. Our community knew that our Rockies were the American parallel to the film’s Carpathian Mountains and the stereotype is true that we are all outdoors soaking in the sunshine in nature literally all -the-time. Eco-tourism is what we Coloradans are all about and it is no wonder that not only Romanians attended the screening. There were American hardcore hikers and cyclists there as well. My friend Michael had just hiked from Colorado to Arizona (which took him at least 3 months!) and said he can’t wait to set foot on Romania’s newest and most significant hiking trail. The questions fielded by Mihai Lehene (President of RUF) and Alin Ușeriu (visionary of ‘Via Transilvanica’) in the Q&A proved that the mission of their national tour was successful. It seems like we ended the evening with everyone declaring when they would set foot on ‘Via Transilvanica’ themselves.
RAFA succeeded in raising significant funds to support the ‘Via Transilvanica’ project. As a result of the Boulder film screening, 30 financial backers donated approximately $3000. Two milestones were purchased: by RAFA and by the Alex and Liana Iuga Family. As Executive Director of the arts group Bucharest Inside the Beltway, I was particularly impressed by the diverse and eclectic works of art that are the crafted by sculptors to become the milestones placed along the trail. These milestones can still be purchased, please visit RUF’s website!
In Romania Insider’s article about the nine-city national tour of the film, Colorado got a special shout-out: “In Denver, Via Transilvanica signed a collaboration agreement with FarOut, an app for long-distance routes. The Via Transilvanica trail, with all the needed information, will be uploaded to the app as a guidebook plus GPS tracking to help hikers find their way along the route. It will be included in the app alongside trails such as the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail, raising its profile among international hikers.” In addition to business, it was our community’s honor to be part of an effort that included a stop at the personal residence of Romanian Ambassador to the USA, Andrei Muraru. Stay tuned for more news of film screenings, including international film festivals. The documentary captures the making of the portion of the trail in Caraș-Severin county and highlights the people who are part of the story: from mayors to hikers, from volunteers to ambassadors. For those new to ‘Via Transilvanica’ it is a long-distance trail crossing the mountains of Romania. The trail will link Drobeta-Turnu Severin, in Mehedinți county, to Putna, in the northeastern part of the country. In between the two places, the route goes through ten counties and covers over 1,000 km.
Founded in 1990, RAFA is a Boulder, Colorado based 501(c)3 charity organization that helps Romanian orphanages and people in need, as well as promotes Romanian cultural heritage and traditions. In Colorado each year RAFA organizes a Spring and Fall Picnic, a celebration for Romania’s National Day on December 1st, and a celebration for International Women’s Day on March 8th. RAFA also hosts monthly “Mircea Eliade” Literary Circles (in-person pre-pandemic and now on Zoom) where authors in the Romanian language and come together and share their work. Our beloved Annual Romanian Festival is our organization’s main educational, artistic, and charitable event. Our next Romanian Festival will take place September 25, 2022 at Belmar in Lakewood. Save the Date!
