Haydamaky

By Walter Kish

As anyone who is Ukrainian in the Greater Toronto Area knows, over the weekend of September 18-20, a goodly stretch of Bloor Street west of Runnymede Rd. will be closed off to traffic and dedicated to hosting the Toronto Ukrainian Festival.  First inaugurated in 1995, it has become one of Toronto’s biggest and most enjoyable ethnic festivals attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors over the course of the weekend.  Torontonians and visitors alike know that no one knows how to throw a party and have fun like Ukrainians.

For three days, visitors to the festival can leave their diets at home and revel in the joys of Ukrainian food and drink.  But that is just the start - this six block stretch of Bloor Street West will become one big pedestrian mall lined with exhibits of arts and crafts, street sales, and continuous entertainment of all kind.  On Friday and Saturday nights, after the formal concert programs, the street will become one big “zabava” or Ukrainian dance, enabling participants to work off all those calories gained by indulging in too many perogies and cabbage rolls.

What I am particularly looking forward to is the headline concert on Saturday night featuring one of Ukraine’s most well known and popular rock groups, Haydamaky.  I had the pleasure of seeing this group live a number of times when I lived in Ukraine, and I can testify that they are one of the most energetic and entertaining bands I have ever seen. 

The band was originally organized in 1991 under the name Aktus in the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union, when young musicians were finally freed from the restrictions and censorship that limited their ability to exercise their creativity in line with what was happening on the world music scene.  They experimented with many Western genres, including punk, rock, ska and reggae and became popular not only in the underground Kyiv music scene, but throughout Europe.  By 2001, they were popular enough to be signed to a record deal by EMI Records out of London (UK).

As they matured as a group, they progressively added more and more elements of Ukrainian folk music into the mix, creating a powerful fusion of traditional musical themes with the rhythm and high energy of more modern Western pop music.  Their political activism during the Orange Revolution gave them further wide exposure and since then, they have become one of Ukraine’s leading bands.

Their name “Haydamaky”, which they adopted in 2001, reflects their increasing identification with their Ukrainian roots.  The Haydamaky were Kozak rebels who in the Eighteenth Century rose against the Polish nobility who then ruled most of Ukraine.  There were actually a series of rebellions, the first occurring in 1734 and the last during the 1830s.  They were lead by colourful Kozak leaders such as Maksym Zalizniak, Ivan Gonta and Ustym Karmeliuk who have become famous in Ukrainian historical lore, giving rise to numerous legends, folk songs and literary works on the theme, the most famous being Shevchenko’s epic poem “Haydamaky”.

The spirit of the historical Haydamaks lives on in the music and energy of the contemporary musical group of the same name.  Featuring the dynamic lead singer Oleksandr Yarmola, and five exceptional instrumentalists that include not only the standard drums and guitars of conventional rock bands, but also accordion, trumpet, sopilka, tsymbaly, drymba and mandolin.  They produce a distinctive sound that will undoubtedly have people literally dancing in the streets. 

The group has produced four best selling CDs and toured extensively throughout Europe in recent years.  After their concert at the Toronto Ukrainian Festival, the group will be continuing on to play concerts in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg.

I know where I will be this festival weekend.  I’m hopeful that all of you will take advantage of what will undoubtedly be a festival to remember.