A Strong Dose of Ukrainian

By Volodymyr Kish

The Toronto Ukrainian Festival returns to Bloor West Village on September 14^th through 16^th, and I can hardly wait.  Each year, I heartily look forward to getting my annual strong dose of all that’s good about being Ukrainian to counteract the year’s accumulation of Ukrainian “obligations” and “responsibilities”.

Let’s face it – being Ukrainian in the diaspora is not an easy thing.  We carry a heavy moral burden as the minders of the flame of the Ukrainian “cause”.  Our predecessors who came here to Canada brought together with their physical baggage, a historical obligation to keep alive a Ukrainian struggle for national, cultural, linguistic and spiritual independence that has been going on for some eight hundred years.  Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents in Canada devoted a great deal of time, effort and money towards creating churches, organizations and other structures that would keep the historical flame of hope burning bright.  Our current generation of Ukrainian Canadians has inherited that responsibility and it is not an easy burden to shoulder.

Increasingly, the number of Ukrainians here in Canada who are willing to shoulder that burden is getting smaller and smaller.  As the inexorable forces of assimilation do their thing, the demands on those still dedicated to the cause get more onerous. More and more is being asked of fewer and fewer people.  Those in the leadership ranks of our Ukrainian community are being stretched thinner and thinner. And yet we persist.

I count myself as one those Ukrainian Canadian “activists”.  I say that not for the purpose of seeking any recognition or gratitude, but simply as a reflection of the real imperatives of my life.  I cannot really explain why I do this; I simply accept that it is one of the things that my conscience says I must do and leave it at that.

However, this is also why I look forward to the Ukrainian Festival each year.  It is one of the few times when I and many of my “activist” peers can let our proverbial hair down and just simply enjoy being Ukrainian.  We can set aside meetings, programs, causes, fund-raising drives, political debates, concerns over what is happening in Ukraine, worries about community apathy, religious controversies, etc. etc. and revel in all that’s good in Ukrainian food, arts, culture and entertainment.

For three days, we can focus on the “fun” of being Ukrainian.  We can enjoy a phenomenal range of musical talent, both home-grown and from Ukraine.

This year’s headline act from Ukraine, VV (Vopli Vidopliasova) is one of the best-known and longest lasting rock bands Ukraine has ever produced, having been formed back in 1986 when the Soviet Union was still around.  Oleh Skrypka, their leader is a recognized  giant in the Ukrainian music industry.  The band plays a range of what I call heavy-duty rock that will certainly get both your pulse and your feet going.

There will also be a phenomenal range of musical performers including Vasyl Popadiuk, Zirka, UB (Edmonton), Zhyto (Calgary), the Fralinger String Band (Philadelphia), Harmonia (Cleveland), Andrey Kutash (Montreal), Sofia Fedyna (Lviv), Zorya (Cleveland) and many others.

No Ukrainian festival would be complete without showcasing the wonders of Ukrainian Dance and this one will be doing it in spades.  The number of groups performing is amazing and includes Barvinok (Toronto), Kalyna (Hamilton), Orlan (Winnipeg), Kashtan (Cleveland), and Ukrayina (Toronto). There are many other performers and a complete list can be found on the festival web site: www.ukrainianfestival.com.

As in years past, I will be there enjoying myself thoroughly.  I will probably eat a few too many varenyky and patychky, and no doubt have a pint more of Lvivske beer, or shot of Zirkova vodka than I should.  I will undoubtedly meet up with lots of old friends whom I haven’t seen in years (or at least since last year’s Festival) and stock up on Ukrainian CDs, books and memorabilia.  All in all, I will be having lots of fun and I hope you will too!