UKRAINIAN CALGARY

Kupalo in the Park 2015

2015-06-18T20:24:00.001-06:00

Well the amazing people at St. John's Institute in Edmonton are doing it again! Another fantastic community growing event to embrace and welcome friends of the Ukrainian idea!

This event is called Kupalo in the Park - and will take place on Monday, July 6, 2015 at Emily Murphy Park in Edmonton. A beautiful and ancient holiday, Ivana Kupala welcomes the change of the seasons at a summer solstice festival that coincides with the traditional religious holiday of St. John. Dedicated to the ancient powers of water and fire, it celebrates capturing the powers that led to civilized life. Intriguing and ancient, and woven into the religious cycle over millennia, it has always held a powerful place in Ukrainian cultural life. So extremely pleased that St. John's Institute is hosting the 2015 Ukrainian Summer Family Tradition - Ivana Kupala. Admission is free.

Contested Grounds

2015-06-18T11:55:00.000-06:00

I have already mentioned my disappointment with North American University professors and academics who continue to espouse a tainted history of Eastern Europe post WWII. How do you like this phrase, given recent events in Canadian history - I like to refer to myself as an "aboriginal Ukrainian"! With genealogical roots (based on National Geographic's Genome Project) of some 9 thousand years in Western Ukraine, what else could you call me? Like many of us "aboriginal Ukrainians", whether we live in Ukraine or not, our familial narrative is replete with the strangely twisted history of Ukraine and Ukrainians. Of course to the neophite it all sounds gobbled. And sound bits definitely do our ancestry disservice. So I am glad to share news of some impressive initiatives with you!

Our community's good friend Bulba bulba@telusplanet.net is now working on a committee organizing one of the most significant Ukrainian/Eastern Europe themed International Conferences ever held in Western Canada - this October 23, 24, 2015. The Ukrainian academic community is uniting to help educate the world about Ukraine and Eastern Europe in the light of Russian policy. One could say it is about the information gap between those who write history and those who live it.

This is the Edmonton Conference to Examine the Impact of WWII on Ukraine and Eastern Europe - scheduled to take place at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies October 23 and 24, 2015. Titled “Contested Ground: The Legacy of the Second World War for Eastern Europe,” the gathering will take place at the University of Alberta on 23-24 October 2015 and will be open to scholars, students and members of the general public. Please consider your participation!

The immediate and long term repercussions of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements, Moscow's "sphere of influence", the Ukrainian post-war experience, the Warsaw Pact, and Cold War - the conference will also consider how narratives of war intentionally shaped by international forces have acquired a new relevance. My eyes were recently enlightened by Jerrold Schecter's recent article in European Affairs to as the "Bolshevik Code" (www.europeaninstitute.org). Such thinking contributes to the train of thought, richly underscored by memories of veterans, survivors and the Ukrainian international community.

A distinguished group of scholars has already agreed to present papers at the Edmonton conference. These include such experts from overseas as Paul Goble (Tartu University, Estonia), Yitzak Brudny (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Hakan Kirimli (Bilkent University, Turkey), and former Polish Minister of Defense Janusz Onyszkiewicz (International Centre for Democratic Transition). Among the American participants are Norman Naimark (Stanford University), Mark Von Hagen (Arizona State University), Janusz Bugajski (Centre for European Policy Analysis) and Ariel Cohen (Institute for the Analysis of Global Security). These will be joined by Ukrainian scholars like Yuri Shapoval and Vladyslav Hrynevych of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, as well as leading specialists from several Canadian universities. James Sherr of Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) in the United Kingdom will be the featured speaker at a public banquet to be held on 24 October to mark the conclusion of the conference. A worldrenowned authority on Russia and Ukraine, he will address the theme "The 'Peace of 1945' and the Current State of Affairs in Ukraine." More details to come!

Kudos' to these distinguished contributors who will also help mark the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. More information at http://ukrainian-studies.ca/2015/06/16/edmonton-conference-to-examine-theimpact-of-wwii-on-ukraine-and-eastern-europe/.

DakhaBrakha at Calgary Folk Music Festival 2015

2015-06-18T10:50:00.004-06:00

Calgarians know that our summer folk music festival is one of the best ways to spend a summer's evening! Warm, summer breezes, Prince's Island Park, the Bow River and fabulous international artists conveying the eternal beauty of life through music! Thou, a bottle of wine, and music of course! And of course, tickets to Calgary's Folk Music Festival - this July 2015!

One of the special guest artist groups to perform this summer is DakhaBrakha is a world-music quartet from Kyiv, Ukraine. Their unexpected new music comes from the heart and soul of the chaotic, centuries-long give and take of Ukrainian life. Created in 2004, this avant-garde theatrical approach opens up the potential of Ukrainian melodies, and leaves a distinct impression upon its audiences. Bright, unique, astonishingly powerful musicianship, their deeply rooted understanding of Ukraine's pivotal place in world consciousness is a testament to all the travellers who ever crossed its soil. Fusion,yes - but oh so much more! Phenomenally rich music!

Get your tickets soon!

July 23rd-24th (at 6:20 p.m.) - solo concert
Calgary Folk Music Festival
Prince's Island Park
Calgary, AB CANADA

http://www.calgaryfolkfest.com/artists/view/1360-dakhabrakha

The Winding Road

2015-06-18T10:38:00.001-06:00

photo by Lorraine Alford

A while back when I started this blog, before any of the UkrainianVancouver, or UkrainianChicago blogs were up and running, I felt an urge to write. There seemed to be so much information emanating from the north of Ukraine, and very little cross-North America news. I know that Bohdan at Yevshan started a Ukrainian community events calendar shortly after, but there wasn't anybody just chatting about stuff. So I found my niche.

Father Taras Krochak

Meandering thoughts about community, connections, long tendrils of acquaintance-friendship-relationship circled in my mind. It seemed that so many of the people in the Ukrainian community knew each other! Sadly, across time and distance we would mostly say - haven't heard about them for a long time! Quiet moments full of rich memories....where are those formerly dear friends now?

My dearest friend, Mom, is up to her eyeballs in garden, grandchildren, and genealogical studies. I took a photo of her glorious bar-v-nok to use as my blog's calling card. Long, tender yet resilient vines of green bursting out of the ground and reaching with their endlessly beautiful periwinkle coloured blossoms - stretching across the garden path. Seeking what? Seeking the future?

Korovai by Luba Macewko

Preparing for my daughter's wedding last summer, many dear friends contributed their garden bar-v-nok, to braid and curl, twine and twist the pliable filaments for the traditional regalia to be used at their Marriage Sacrament - the Crowning. I couldn't believe how long the vines stayed beautifully green! No wilting, no drooping, the crowns retained their vitality well into the second week after the wedding and further! I am reminded that they are evergreen, but wow do they stay long!

When I got married, my grandmother had laboriously tended and babied a myrtle plant in her house in Manitoba to use for my wreath! Smaller vines, grown on a firmer stock, but equally beautiful, if more fragile looking. She watered the vines judiciously to exact the precise firmness - not too tender and slender, but not too tough or impliable - retaining the family wisdom about a proper match, of course. Then my friend Ken, the florist thought to apply gold leaf to the myrtle leaves, which Baba, in all humility thought would be too ostentatious. Ken did apply miniature white blossoms though - the wreath was simply stunning.

The resilient vines of barvinok in my garden took on a deep, thick green over the winter, but now their gyrating filaments are warmed and nourished in the spring rains. It is hard to tell where one slender shoot ends and another begins. Life is like that too. Grafted onto the vine of life, the barvinok reminds us to stay connected to the vine, even in the cold of winter because the spring will return with its luscious growth, time, after time, after time.......

The Treasure of Community - Calgary Ukrainian Festival 2015

2015-05-08T10:16:00.000-06:00

Giving back to the community is high priority for Ukrainians in Canada. Socially, economically, spiritually, intellectually and culturally our community provides profoundly rich experiences for its many, many participants. In the century and more of Ukrainian diaspora in North America the community has overcome remarkable challenges, and flourished in ways we will only appreciate from the vantage point of future times.

A treasured legacy of profound love, dedication of resources and time - this is the Calgary Ukrainian Festival. And how can you be a part of it!!

Maybe this is your year for adopting a class? Could you provide for Ukrainian lessons for a needy child? Could you provide for someone's Ukrainian dance lessons this year? Could you contribute to a family's spiritual journey via their membership in a church? Could you touch the hearts of the needy through their sense, especially their stomachs - send a meal of pyrogies and holubtsi? Contribute to the Ukrainian Canadian Community's advocacy for the homeland? Promote the professional and intellectual resources at the Ukrainian Library at St. Vlads? Get involved in outreach and education through the Pioneer Program at the Ukrainian Museum of Canada Branch here in Calgary?

So many ways to get involved - so many wonderful sights, sounds, and smells - remember to bring the kids for a very friendly, kid centered day, and then plan for the evening zabava - korchma, and dance (of course!! bring your boots!!)

COME FOR THE FUN! STAY FOR THE TREASURE OF COMMUNITY!

Suzirya The Anniversary Show 2015

2015-05-07T17:55:00.002-06:00

Do you miss the adrenaline rush, the dancer habits, the chaos of rehearsal schedules, the escapism through physical engagement in dance, your former flexibility,the costumes, stage makeup, pounding dance music, and trusting friendships of your dancing days? If even one of these applies to you then you have to hurry and get your tickets!

In just over a week, Suzirya will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate their 10th Anniversary Show! I imagine Serhiy and the dancers will be beaming with exhilaration! Tickets are still available! Come and join Suzirya and special guests, the Barvinok Ukrainian Dance Society, the Yalenka Ukrainian Dancers Society and theKorinnya Ukrainian Folk Ensemble as they celebrate 10 years of Ukrainian dance in Calgary!

Date: Sunday, May 17, 2015 @ 7:30 pm

Location: Martha Cohen Theatre (220 9 Ave. SE, Calgary, AB)

Tickets are available through the Arts Commons website (https://shop.artscommons.ca/single/SYOS.aspx?p=8649) or at the Arts Commons Box Office (Centre Court at 225 8 Ave. SE, Calgary, AB).

Don't You Just Love Men's Singing?

2015-05-07T17:45:00.001-06:00

I absolutely adore the sound of men's choirs. Not sure when I got addicted! Men have sung together throughout history, maybe it is in my genes! I especially enjoy the sound of men singing in harmony, usually a cappella. Really, and why do you need another instrument when you have the glorious range of countertenors all the way to the basso profundo to sing everything from folk songs to musical comedy, choruses from opera, as well as unique and specialized arrangements by new and respected Ukrainian composers. Just love, love, love!

And the Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton have the fellowship of music and culture to share. That's why you just have to mark Saturday, May 23, 2015 with a special star on your calendar.

The Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton presents a Spring Concert on Saturday, May 23, 2015 at 7:30 pm at St. Stephen’s Anglican Church (1121 14 Avenue SW) in Calgary with special guest: Calgary's own Stephania Romaniuk, mezzo-soprano (Recently returned from an eventful and positively received musical/philanthropic tour to Ukraine!

The hour-long concert will feature Ukrainian sacred and secular choral works, as well as several songs sung in English. Admission is by donation.

The choir's website is www.ukrainianmalechorus.ca.

Stephania's website is www.stephaniaromaniuk.com.

The choir will also be singing the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, May 24, 2015 at 9:30 AM at St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church at 404-Meredith Road NE Calgary. For more information please call 403-264-3437.

Fall, Winter, Summer and Spring 2015

2015-05-01T15:20:00.003-06:00

Are you still waiting for Spring? Round and round the seasons go! Fall, Winter, Summer and Spring. Here is an invitation you simply cannot refuse!

Come and Celebrate the Seasons with Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club of Lethbridge tomorrow evening (May 2) at the University of Lethbridge Theatre (7pm).

Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club continues the excellence in community building this year with its 20th anniversary spring show. Ukrainian dancing, culture and spirit will make for a very enjoyable experience for Southern Alberta! And those twenty years have certainly been busy!

From the little, little, big steps of the first dance classes in the 1990's to their 2014-5 full program of culinary treats, pysanky, traditions, singing, carolling, malanka, and community outreach with over 12 performances annually - Troyanda certainly has performed its "ingathering", including social activism while informing the greater Canadian public about affairs in the ancestral homeland - Ukraine! A wonderfully open hearted welcome, community spirit, but most essentially - excellence in dance! Hope you will wish them a happy 20th anniversary from all of us in Southern Alberta! And many more!

Get your tickets today! http://uleth.universitytickets.com/

Summer Camp Bar V Nok 2015

2015-03-26T09:22:00.000-06:00

Spring is here, and summer is coming, really!! Time to plan for those summer days, summer vacation, and summer camp! And for the quintessential overnight camp experience with a Ukrainian flavour - get ready for Camp Bar-v-nok, situated on Alberta’s beautiful Pigeon Lake. This fun filled summer camp program is designed especially for youngsters 7-15 who will enjoy a wide variety of cultural, sporting, religious and recreational activities. Think of lakeside evenings, vatra bonfire events, zabava dance evenings, and excursions off site - and opportunities to make life long friends in a Ukrainian atmosphere. Crafts, Ukrainian dancing, swim, canoe, sing, survival skills, nature walks, singing, and spirituality - the best of summer camp!

Camp Bar-v-nok is going on the road...! Due to renovations being done at camp Bar-v-nok this summer, the summer camp program is temporarily relocating the summer 2015 program to Camp St. Basil, on Pigeon Lake. This summer's camp will run from August 9th to August 22nd. Spread the word... and remember to register as soon as possible! http://www.barvnok.com/ https://www.facebook.com/CampBarVNo

Accepting campers age 7 - 15

Dates: August 9th - 22nd

Early registration rate $400 per camper or $375 for more than one child (rate closes April 1st)

Regular rate after April 1st: $450 per camper or $425 for more than one child

Dauphin 50 Bus Tour

2015-03-26T08:59:00.001-06:00

Canada's National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin Manitoba is celebrating their 50th anniversary this summer! Planning on going to CNUF 50 this year? Don't want to drive in a cramped car for 13+ hours? Join the folks at OHUCS and travel responsibility free!

Ogden House Ukrainian Cultural Society is again offering transportation by coach liner to and from Dauphin, MB! Included in the price is a CNUF Weekend festival pass, camping pass and as an added bonus, transportation to and from the Ukrainian Old Timers Show!

Early bird price is $325 per person
Regular pricing is $375 per person

Make sure to look over the poster for all the other details and deadlines! Should you have any other questions, email info@ohucs.com or check their website at www.ohucs.com

SUSK Congress 2015

2015-03-26T08:55:00.002-06:00

Ah, those student days - the days when the lost souls wandering the cafeteria would gather at that one table - the one that earned the name - the Ukrainian Table - which cafeteria lady would give you extra portions of fries if you thanked her in Ukrainian - the blending of community - and the interesting mix of new friends - those Student Days!

The Ukrainian Canadian Students Union is a long standing varsity organization across the institutions of higher learning - a great club for social activities, forums, fun and friendship.

The SUSK National Executive invites you to participate in and support the 2015 National SUSK Congress, to be held May 7-10, 2015 in Montréal, Québec.

They will be sharing detailed information regarding Congress on their website and social media platforms in the coming months, but for now, please save the date!
http://susk.ca/2015/02/03/2015-national-susk-congress/

Conducting Workshop 2015

2015-03-26T08:47:00.003-06:00

Recently I spoke with a group of young people who noticed the cherubim and seraphim angels in the church - many winged, many eyes, but no body. What job do they have? To sing! Simply to sing to the heavens!

Anyone who can breathe can sing, and should! But joining voices together in community - well that takes talent and training! So it is tremendously opportune that the Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta is again hosting a Choral Conductor's Seminar! The treasury of choral music, the synergy of voices energized to with purpose - well that is a classy combination - don't you think!.

As a chorister, an aspiring musician, an instrumentalist who admires the human voice - what greater treasure can there be than to develop the skill to lead - to conduct - to blaze trail and shape the voices that "simply sing!"

Please share this invitation widely, the Ukrainian Music Society of Alberta has a great reputation for quality, and so have the esteemed instructors of this valuable course - an equal opportunity for all!

St. John's Institute Fundraising Gala 2015

2015-02-01T19:30:00.002-07:00

YEG is so blessed with St. John's Institute. SJI is a wonderful non profit affordable housing option, in a desirable location near the University of Alberta - with a reputation for exceptional food and welcome hosting of arts and cultural events. Visit SJI at http://www.stjohnsinstitute.com/

The amazing work of community building across many generations continues at St. John's Institute Edmonton. While I have been there for (compliments to the kitchen!) pyrogy supper, and my daughter did spent more than one summer living at SJI during her studies, just a few blocks from the U of A, I can't believe my misfortune (misjudgement of schedule!) of missing the recently sponsored concerts by my favorite Ukrainian musicians, Піккардійська Терція, в Едмонтоні! And all the extras I have mentioned don't even come close to recognizing the many decades of Ukrainian student life that has been fostered at SJ!.

Folks, it's official! If you like what the SJI people do, and want to support their upcoming projects, you will be in good company to join them on Saturday Feb 7 at the "Show Me the Money" Fundraising Gala! on Saturday, February 7, 2015 at the Palace, 3223 Parsons Road (99 Street) Edmonton.

I understand Suzanna and the board have arranged for live performances by Mercury Opera, Viter Ukrainian Dancers & Folk Choir, and Toy Guns Dance Theatre. That is, after the highly social cocktails, delicious dinner and amazing dance social by Steppe.

Contact SJI at , 780-439-2320, arts_culture@stjohnsinstitute.com for tickets!!

Classical Music for Ukraine

2015-02-01T16:19:00.004-07:00

Canada has certainly been a friend in need, an advocate for governmental support, and local activism during the recent political and military upheaval in Ukraine. Since the remarkable Revolution of Dignity in November 2013, Ukraine has both triumphed and been challenged, as it sets its course for the future - a true battle in no uncertain terms. Calgarians have been raising funds to materially and emotionally support those in the "line of fire", especially (but not solely) through medical aid support.

In a celebration of our deepest human values, Calgary's Stephania Romaniuk, and advanced students of the Mount Royal Conservatory have joined efforts for a fundraising concert, a program of Classical Music for Ukraine, Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 2 p.m. at the Leacock Theatre, Mount Royal University, 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW Calgary, AB T3E 6K6.

Nando Malysh 2015

Stephania's gregarious nature, and heart of gold have invited others to passionately embrace this lovely call to duty. The program features the talents of Stephania Romaniuk, mezzo-soprano & artistic director, Tanya Chumak, ballerina, Daniel Dastoor, violin, Cheryl Emery, piano, Lindsey Herle, violin, Minja McKenna, viola, and Andrew Tai-Soon Park, cello. The concert of art songs, arias and instrumental music will also embrace select Ukrainian art songs, gems to welcome into the Classical canon. A rich, fulfilling musical experience awaits.

Stephania's ambition is to travel to Ukraine to contribute in person to the humanitarian effort in person later this spring. A three city concert tour to Odessa, Lviv, Kyiv (Odessa Opera House - Kvitka Cisyk Tribute Concert featuring Dzhamala and other Ukrainian pop stars, Lviv Pototsky Palace featuring Oksana Mukha, Pavlo Tabakov, Choir "Orfei" and others, and L'viv Military Hospital, Kyiv Philharmonia and Canadian Embassy in Kyiv) April 2-12, 2015.

Stephania Romaniuk 2015

If you are needing a study break with beautiful classical music, or mission driven to help an important cause, you will be in good company at Classical Music for Ukraine. For more information on how to get the most of your music-listening experience, or how to contribute to the "help Ukraine" effort, please contact Stephania at 587.228.0220.

Stephania and string quartet will also be performing the repertoire from these tour dates in the Calgary's competitive city-wide Performing Arts Festival in March 2015. The musicians have also been invited to perform (other repertoire) at the BELLA: Fundraiser for the Calgary Health Region, taking place March 11, 2015 at Holt Renfrew (Tickets $500/Seat, $5,000 per VIP table of 6)

Hart's Annual Summer Camp Auction 2015

2015-01-30T12:30:00.001-07:00

The wonderful people at HART are again sending thousands of underprivileged children from Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus to summer camp. And you can be part of this life changing experience for these beautiful children. Children with special needs, socio-economic difficulty, street kids, foster kids, orphans, gypsies, and otherwise displaced children are welcomed into the HART summer camp experience. The socio-political and economic reality of their everyday growing up is a difficult place to dream, and hope for a positive future. And the HART program aspires to give these children a breathing space, an opportunity for dreams - dreams of a peaceful future. Give them the gift of "resilience", contribute to HART.

On March 13, 2015, Calgary's Centre Street Church at 3900 2nd Street NE is the venue for a silent and live auction, a delicious Ukrainian dinner, Ukrainian dance performance, and live commentary to accompany the photo video presentation of HART's work.

Contact their office here in Calgary for further information about HART, and for tickets.
317 - 37 Ave. NE, Suite 200
Calgary, AB, Canada
T2E 6P6
E-mail: office@hart.ca
Telephone: 403.230.8263

Information: Toll Free: 1-888-788-3880

Ukrainian Fashion Design

2015-01-30T09:00:00.002-07:00

shopping in Lviv!

Recently the Italian Valentino Fashion House featured a new collection for spring summer - the 2015 designs drew inspiration from the traditional embroidery and clothing items of Eastern Europe. Shoes, embroidered shirts, sleeveless jackets with sheepskin trim, and the traditional shape of a zhupan - a women's over-vest. Guests appreciated the colorful red and black embroidery and the braided hair designs. The explosion of floral embroideries on elegantly styled fashions certainly caught observers by surprise, but why?

Not long ago, while walking in Lviv's attractive arts scene, overwhelmed with the beautiful design, I nonchalantly photographed these amazing boots for sale. They were by far the most interesting adaptations of traditional/modern footwear. I should have bought them on the spot and regret walking past. Alas, my achingly heavy suitcase contained so many treasures there was no room for more. But you can be assured that my next trip will certainly focus on the remarkably beautiful designer fashions being created in Ukraine. Ethnic elements, traditional shapes, designs, so feminine, and luxurious - just have to get there soon!!

ps can you recommend any online shopping for these types of fashions?

May the Circle Be Unbroken

2015-01-07T14:29:00.001-07:00

In the deep, darkest, coldest part of the winter comes the light - a message of hope through eternity. I have been thinking about recent highly magnified Hubble telescope images that show three pillars of dust, and the birth of new stars beyond. Am I the only one whose meditations lead me to link these images to the Three Wise Men following the Star to Bethlehem - to a perfect moment in time and place, a little enclosed space, to witness to the birth of the energy that is our universe? Where does the Light of Love and Life come from? Are words enough to convey such a deep and profound mystery? Can a human mind even comprehend the immensity of its message?

My husband brought in our Diduch-Grandfather to our Sviata Vecherya feast last night - the eve of Christmas by the Eastern Christian tradition. Is it possible that the ancients had glimmers of these same images - deep in their meditative quests for understanding? Twelve meatless dishes, kutia, borsch, holubtsi, varenyky, mushrooms of all sorts, fish of several types, stewed fruit - dishes made of simple ingredients. Watching the stars, learning to see beyond them.... Like life, Sviata Vecherya is time consuming, layered with flavours of the field, the forest, the rivers, and the orchard. Layered with the flavours of joy, sorrow, passion and inquiry! What a delicious meal!

Khrystos Razhdayetsia - Slavimo Yoho!!

Sovereignty, Money and Power

2015-01-02T15:49:00.000-07:00

The University of Alberta Nickle
Gallery is hosting an exhibit of Sovereignty, Money and Power: The Paper Currency of Revolutionary Ukraine, 1917-1920 over the next few months here in Calgary. the exhibit is curated by Dr. Bohdan Kordan and organized by the Prairie Centre for the Study of Ukrainian Heritage as St. Thomas More College in association with the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.

The exhibit will be open to the public from January 15, to April 4, 2015. An opening reception will be held January 22, 2015 from 5-8 pm, the curator's talk will begin at 6pm. On Marh 26, from 12-1 Dr. Mykola Soroka will speak about Revolution and War in Contemporary Ukraine: A Civilization Conflict Unleashed.

This exhibit is a display of paper currency of revolutionary Ukraine during 1917-1920. The exhibit examines how national sovereignty was portrayed on currency by use of various symbolic imagery and design elements derived from various ideologies in the context of revolution, war and social. It will be held at the University of Calgary's Nickle Galleries located in the Taylor Family Digital Library (TFDL), from January 15 to April 4, 2015.

Suzirya Jubilation Malanka 2015

2015-01-02T15:32:00.001-07:00

Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre presents:

Suzirya's Jubilation Malanka - 10th Anniversary!!

Come celebrate the season and ring in the new year!

Saturday, January 24, 2015
Thorncliffe Greenview Community Association
5600 Centre Street NE, Calgary, AB

Cocktails 5:30 pm
Dinner 7:00 pm
Entertainment 7:30 pm

Homestyle Ukrainian Meal
Floor Show with Suzirya & Guests
- In Tribute to Suzirya's 10 Years
Silent Auction, 50/50, Door Prizes & Draw Auction
Music by UB!
Champagne Toast at Midnight
* Formal Attire Requested *

Tickets $65.00 ($480.00 for a table of 8)
Jordan (403) 613-4685

Malanka In Lethbridge 2015

2015-01-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

The Christmas season gives such opportunity to catch up with friends from all over the world! In the deep, dark coldness of winter people just have to get out and party! Thank heavens for the winter traditions of Ukrainians, which encourage Malanka New Years Festivals each weekend through out January.

Lethbridge Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club is hosting their 20th Anniversary Malanka on Saturday, January 24, 2015. Calgary's favorite dance band Absolute is playing for the ZABAVA! Reserve your tickets today!!

Calgary's Annual Ukrainian Festival of Carols 2014

2015-01-02T15:23:00.002-07:00

Koliada is a word that lightens the heart and fills the spirit with hope and love. Calgary's Koliada always starts with a great send off before the actual Christmas season starts. At some time early in December the tradition of sharing the tremendous gift of Ukrainian musicality returns to our community. Whether singing, strolling, sharing the Good News, or celebrating the ancestral wisdom through humorous or spiritual teachings, this event sets a wonderful tone for everyone. Come for the carols, koliady, schedrivky, vinshuvannya, and celebrate the good will that binds our Calgary community.

The beautiful St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Cultural Centre 404 Meredith Road N. E. was the host venue for Calgary's Annual Ukrainian Festival of Carols 2014 7:00 pm Sunday December 14th, 2014.

The organizers collected volunteer cash donations for Help to Ukraine at the Door. If you wish to donate online please visit www.calgaryucc.org

For more information about this lively community festival in Calgary please email ucc.update@shaw.ca or call Halya at 403-276-1835.

Many thanks to the Calgary Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Calgary and Echoes of Ukraine Shaw Digital TV for continuing this lively tradition!

And if you missed the carol festival, here is a special gift of listening pleasure - two hours of Ukrainian Christmas Carols!! Ukrainian Christmas - two hours of excellent traditional celebratory music.

And don't forget that one can continue singing the lovely koliady clear through the month of January, and even into early February! Way past the feast of Jordan - but more about that later!!

Korinnya 2014 Sing Requiem Song "Zhuravli"

2014-11-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

The perfectly blended sounds of the chamber choir size Korinnya Choir of Calgary 2014 performed beautifully at Calgary's well attended, and excellently organized Annual Holodomor Commemoration on Saturday, November 22, 2014. It takes a talented group to delicately yet effectively communicate the solemn sentiment embedded in the famous requiem song ‘Zhuravli’ (Cranes) by Bohdan Lepky, composed by his brother, Lev Lepky.

Hey, do you hear my brother?, my friend?,
Hear the sound of the cranes as they make their lacy grey passage into the world.

Refrain:
Calling "Kroo, Kroo, Kroo! ,oh to die in a foreign country,
But before I cross the ocean sea, with my wings I will wipe the tears.

Shimmering, blinking eyes seek the infinite path
As the grey mist obliterates, the fading, traces of the cranes.

In Western Ukraine, as early as 1894, a growing national consciousness among Ukrainians was stimulating much thinking, and community solidarity. A generation or so after serfdom was abolished the common people were aspiring to more than a subsistence living. Among the developments of the age was a fitness and firefighting organization called Sich rejuvenating the ideas of the Cossack Zaporozhian era. Many parallel community groups organized including women's groups training for nursing, community newspapers, and by the start of WW1 there were at least 2000 such groups. The enthusiasts coalesced around the idea of a legitimate scouting movement, and soon organizations called Sich, Sokil and Plast took shape. Each group was fostering their variant on the standard scouting curriculum through the lens of national patriotism - to love/serve God and one's people. Branches formed in villages and towns, and when WW1 arrived the young scouts heard the call to duty and many joined the liberation movement.

And a hundred years after the formation of the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen, Українські cічові стрільці, Ukraїnski sichovi stril’tsi, so appropriate to hear the Requiem Song that continues to tug on the heartstrings of so many. Thanks, Korinnya!

Calgarians Remember 2014

2014-11-22T19:34:00.003-07:00

Calgary's Ukrainian community gathered Saturday afternoon, November 22, 2014 for its annual Holodomor Commemoration. The warm embrace of friends, familiar faces, all drawn like moths to a flame, to the flame of remembrance.

The Calgary Branch of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress hosted a Prayerful Memorial Panachyda with the participation of local clergy, Korinnya Ukrainian Ensemble raised their voices in the soulful remembrance of The Cranes (Zhuravli), Ukrainian Youth read poems, sang and hung images of Holodomor victims, contemplative of past days and the world to come. Calgary mezzo soprano Stephania Romaniuk and Cellist (?) performed a beautiful, newly composed lyric piece in honor of the Holodomor. then Mr. Bohdan Romaniuk spoke eloquently about the causes of the Holodomor, as a precursor to today's events in Ukraine, and Calgary Conservative MP Rob Anders, incredulous at the sheer horror of the facts he was speaking, shared his empathy and humanity with the assembly. Thanks to the many contributors, UCC Calgary's program today held the listeners spellbound with respect and deeply felt emotion. Diakuyemo!!

Participants could not help to be moved by the speakers, the presentations today.

Among the participants today, an extremely well informed gentleman waited the opportunity to share his passionate concern to educate and inform anyone within hearing distance about Ukraine and Ukrainians. Today, Mr. Mykola Woron held a remarkable and rare book, released from a Soviet era publishing house in 1991 - Kyiv, the year Ukraine gained its Independence from the USSR, about the Holodomor, written by two authors who were thereafter "removed" by the authorities. Mr. Woron believes the second author, Manyak V.A is buried in Kyiv. The masterwork of Mr. Woron's life is the Library at St. Vladimir Ukrainian Cultural Centre, a resource about all things Ukrainian! Time to visit the library! "Learn, my friends! Think and read......."

photos courtesy of Olena Pavlyshyna 2014

Calgary Holodomor Commemoration 2014

2014-11-19T12:14:00.001-07:00

In the late 1800's Canada had the wisdom to invite Ukrainian people and others from Eastern Europe to the hard task of creating farms on the prairies. The theory was that the poorest farmer on the smallest landholding in Ukraine had to be the hardest worker, and use extreme flexibility, creativity and personal initiative to simply survive there. That was the kind of worker Canada needed. Breaking the prairie scrub land, many of those farmers flourished amazingly well. Canada's prosperity grew.

The Stalinist Soviet government of the late 1920's and early 1930's looked with on with envy, coercively bent on producing a new kind of wealth for the USSR - collective wealth. But first there would be collectivization of lands. It would belong to nobody and everybody at the same time. Inexperienced foremen, inflexible, and brittle, bristled with arrogance upon the slightest criticism. Practically ineffective but ideologically driven they iron fistedly expunged centuries of creativity, initiative and flexibility in one fell swoop with the Holodomor. When subjected to pressure and stress, things break, snap or crack - as Ukraine did in the 1930's. Millions of people died, and with them, the subtly nuanced collective inheritance of farm land management, resources and cultural wealth. And countless personal and shared stories of life and living.....

Horrific events with a multitude of affects - and here we are 80 and more years later seeing Ukraine continue its struggle - how to bounce back from the aftermath of the Holodomor and more, and finally develop the world class leadership capacity to ensure the nation's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. How to engage an entirely disengaged citizenry who remember just how quickly the tallest sunflower always gets noticed and cut down first!!

The future beacons, and those who learn from the past will not make the same errors.

On Saturday, 22 November 2014, International Holodomor Memorial Day and National Holodomor Memorial Day, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress calls upon all Canadians to:

remember the victims of the Holodomor with a moment of silence at 19:32 local time;
light candles of remembrance in homes;
participate in local commemorative events and memorial services.

Calgary's Holodomor Commemoration Ceremony will be held on Nov 22nd, 2014 at 11 AM at St.Vladimir Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 404 Meredith Road NE Calgary. You are graciously invited to wear an embroidered sorochka, and join the community commemoration of the Ukrainian Genocide Famine 'Holodomor'.

May our memory of the victims of the Holodomor – 1932-33 Famine Genocide remain eternal.

Ukraine remembers – the World acknowledges!

Euromaidan YYC

2014-11-18T17:06:00.002-07:00

Many years ago in 1991 when Ukraine gained its independence from the USSR, a Calgary news reporter came to Calgary's Sadochok and asked to interview me. The question was, if Ukraine is now independent, will I "go back"? I was shocked at the question, being of Canadian citizenship, four generations of being Canadian! The question seemed to hinge on the confusion between patriotism, and nationalism. How could one be a patriot of Canada, and care deeply for one's ancestral homeland? Perhaps social media continues to wrestle with this question.

For an intensely interesting view of Tomas Rafa's #Euromaidan YYC film, Calgary's Military Museum is hosting a photo/video exhibit about the Ukrainian EuroMaidan this month and until December 15, 2014. Great cinematography and fascinating ideas about heroism in the times of the Maidan.

www.themilitarymuseums.ca