Information: Producer of sound recordings

Ivan Petar "John" Filcich, seeing a great need, opened his first record shop in 1949 in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in Balkan and international music and folk dance records.

Ivan, with his Festival Records label, was a principal supplier of folk dance recordings to North America and the world. His record shops, Slav-Art Music Center in Oakland, Festival Records in Los Angeles, and Festival Folk Shop in San Francisco, were must stops for folk danceers, square dancers, ethnic musicologists, and Roma from all over the world.

Because of his life-long interest in the Rom culture, Ivan was often invited to their weddings, religious celebrations, and other community activities and was the North American supplier for Romani music, candles, and other items for many years.