5 minute read
mariana sirko looks at the memorial art installation 'angels of ukraine,' with angels for the 632 children that have been killed during the war in ukraine .
darren makowichuk
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postmedia calgary
for many people, the calgary ukrainian festival is a great time to get some hot, homemade pierogies.
by 11 a.m. on saturday, an hour after the festival began, a line had already formed in the entrance hall of the acadia recreation complex and people bustled through the curling rink and hockey arena, sat in long rows of tables helping themselves to hot food or watching dancers dressed in traditional garb performing on stage.
however since the beginning of the russia-ukraine war in 2022, jordan bliss, the festival’s vice-chair, has noticed more people mulling inside the complex during the festival weekend, and not just by the pierogi stand.
“i think people have found a little bit of a taste of home in the festival and they look forward to it,” he said.
the sadok ukrainian dance ensemble from vernon, b.c., perform during the ukrainian festival at the acadia recreation complex on saturday.
darren makowichuk
/
postmedia calgary
this year, the festival beginning at 10 a.m. saturday will continue until midnight, and then again on sunday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
taking over the recreation complex, goers will be able to walk through a range of vendors selling ukrainian products, knick-knacks and local artistry, taste traditional foods and watch performances rolling through the day.
more than 20 vendors regularly partner with the festival, making the event no easy feat to organize, according to bliss. “it takes us about 10 months to put this on, hundreds of hours, lots of phone calls, meeting, emails. it’s quite the ordeal.”
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growing in popularity
this marks the festival’s 15th year in calgary, but it has been popular since day 1.
“in the first year, we weren’t sure what the reception to a festival of this nature was going to look like, so we were quite modest in the size and venue that we were borrowing,” he said. “but at 10 a.m. when we opened our doors, the line was like an hour long or two … our caterer could not catch up.”
the first year the festival was held at the triwood indoor arena and immediately the second year, the committee switched to the acadia centre to accommodate its immediate and growing popularity.
“throughout the course of the weekend, we’ll get about 5,500 people,” he said, adding this year they’d like to see more than 6,000.
this year, marta melysh and natalia lipatnikova volunteered to host the stall for the barnivok ukrainian dance society, a dance school that both their sons go to, to learn traditional dancing.
“my son had danced in ukraine for six years and then we came to calgary and he joined this school,” lipatnikova said. both their sons, aged four and 10, performed at the festival as part of the annual celebrations.
“he’s very excited. he loves being on stage,” melysh said of her four-year-old boy.
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she described ukrainian dancing as “very high energy, bright and colourful.”
“lots of big jumps and spins and running,” she added.
“it’s like a big spectacle.”
teaching her son how to dance the traditional styles ensures he stays in touch with the culture, she said, “because we can’t, right now, go to ukraine.”
someday, melysh hopes to take her son back to ukraine and show him what it’s actually like. “but since we can’t, it’s like a piece of home that we get to hang on to,” she said.
kids also got into the spirit of the occasion during the ukrainian festival at the acadia recreation complex on saturday.
darren makowichuk
/
postmedia calgary
both melysh and lipatnikova have family remaining in ukraine, which has seen war with russia ongoing for three years, since russia first invaded in feb. 24, 2022.
lipatnikova came to canada with her family in 2022 after the war first broke out. her son has adjusted well to life in canada, finding other ukrainian kids in class and being able to speak english. “but he still misses his grandma and grandpa in ukraine,” she said.
this is tetiana lysytsia’s first time at the festival. having heard of it on social media, she decided to get involved to showcase treats from her bakery solodko yyc. on saturday, she displayed a bevy of items, including the traditional waffle cake, buns with sausage rolls, pies and a range of cookies.
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“walnut and butter cakes and sausage rolls,” she replied, when asked what seemed to be the most popular. “they’re delicious.”
lysytsia came to canada two-and-a-half years ago, after the war broke out.
“i have friends here, who helped with documents, rent a house,” she said. life in canada has felt “safe” where her son can go to school and make friends.
but it hasn’t been easy. “i try to handle my emotions because my son can see my moods and it’s not good for him,” she said.
being at the festival for the first has been a “good experience” for her, she said. “being able to meet different people and everyone can tell you something new.”
“it’s a good event and it can help us maybe relax and forget what’s happening in our country,” she said. “but it’s still not the same.”
‘important to us’
oleksandr nesterenko, father of two, agreed, adding he observes the same among people attending and volunteering at the festival.
normally, he volunteers at the festival, he said, but this year, there were so many volunteers that there weren’t enough spots left to fill up. “and that shows how important (the festival) is for us.”
while he and his family left ukraine after war broke out, his parents decided to stay. “they don’t want to leave,” he said, having lived most of their lives in their homeland.
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“we try to communicate as often as we can because they need support,” he said.
he paused for a minute. “it’s difficult to find the words to explain (how it feels),” he finally said.
running through the weekend at the acadia recreation complex, the ukrainian festival is filled with performers, dancers and food.
darren makowichuk
/
postmedia calgary
by 1 p.m., the building was packed, with people shuffling from one room to the other, cheering enthusiastically at children flitting about the stage, performing dance moves rigorously practised for weeks before.
as a longtime volunteer, melysh said she’s noticed more newer generation of immigrants visiting the festival in recent years. “i moved only 20 years ago and i was the new immigrant then,” she said. “now there’s a whole new wave of people.”
the idea at the start was to bring the ukrainian community in calgary together to “celebrate and promote the culture in a unified way,” bliss said. “since then it has grown into something that is placed on people’s calendars months and months in advance.”
“i want them to take away the biggest smile they have for trying something new, any experience they had, and if anything, a belly full of pierogies,” he said. “they’re happy that they attended and hopefully want to come back next year.”
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