2007
By Alexandra Kindrat
September 8th,
2007, could not have been a more perfect day for the 2007 edition of the
Montreal Ukrainian Festival. This
sun-filled day began with the regular hustle and bustle of vendors setting up
and last minute preparations before the opening ceremonies at 11 a.m. The artists and performers trickled in around
10:30 am, as did the official political and organizational representatives.
Shortly after, the festival and a whole year of planning finally got under way.
The opening ceremonies were
a vibrant display of yellow and blue ribbons, colourful flowers and costumes,
traditional “Bread and Salt” Welcome, and greetings. Honoured dignitaries such
as Dr. Ihor Ostash,
As usual, the level of
performance was spectacular. Headliners
included Ukrainian Barvy, and the Melnik-Humanchuk vocal duet,
both from
As in the past, the main
exhibit display at the festival did not disappoint attendees. This year, it
came from Sprit Lake, Quebec, and focused on the Ukrainian-Canadian Internment
Camp in Northern Quebec during World War I. James Slobodian and his very know-ledgeable
team from the Spirit Lake Corporation allowed us to gain a thorough
understanding of the experiences that Canadians of Ukrainian ancestry were
subjected to in the early part of the twentieth century.
For the second year, the
organizers of the Montreal Ukrainian festival, the St. Volodymyr Cultural
Association of Montreal, gave awards of recognition. Joining us on stage for
the presentation were Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Member of the Quebec National
Assembly for Rosemont, and Andr Lavall, Mayor of the arondissement
(district) of Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, representing Grald Tremblay, the Mayor
of Montreal. These awards honour the
accomplishments of individuals in
As expected, the cuisine
was simply extraordinary and featured two vendors offering delicious varenyky,
one from the St. Volodymyr Cultural Association and the other from the
Daughters of Ukraine Branch of the Ukrainian Women’s Association of Canada. The
sausages were numerous, as were the delicious pampushky and khrustyky
desserts.
Children had an amazing day
of activities, from bouncing around in an inflated castle to having their faces
painted. Fredolini the Clown did not
disappoint them and somehow managed to get water out of an empty pail after
tapping on children’s heads. Blue and
yellow helium balloons surrounded the park and could be seen high up in the
sky.
The show and festivities
continued all day, as did the level of participation. Crowds continued to stream into the park, and
it was clear that the show could have gone on much later. At 7 p.m., as Fes-
tival President, I went on stage for the last time, thanked my generous
sponsors including Montreal’s CTV, Montreal Express, Mouvement Desjardins
and the caisse ukrainienne de Montreal and the Government of Quebec, and
then officially declared the 2007 edition of the Montreal Ukrainian festival
closed. The park remained at capacity
until at least 8 pm. No one wanted to
leave!
A week later, I am pleased
with our success. A record number of
15,000 participants attended the festival, making this edition the most
successful one to date.
The planning for the 2008
festival is already underway. Save the
date: Saturday, September 6, 2008. Visit
us online at www.ukefestmontreal.org.
Join in on the fun! Vitaemo!