Ukrainian Students' Club

January Means a New Year…Every Weekend

By Renata Hornich, Vice-President, USC, U of T

Just when people begin to put away their Christmas decorations and start getting ready to ring in the New Year, Ukrainians all over the city are usually putting them up and gearing up for what seems to be the most hectic, yet wonderful, month of the year.  January starts off with frantic pyrohy-making marathons and beet and wheat boiling until the wee hours of the night, all for the sake of the traditional 12-course meal to be eaten on January 6.

After all that hard work is over and done with, it’s all of a sudden time for kolyada and malanka.  This year, the Ukrainian Students' Club (USC) at the University of Toronto had two teams out caroling on January 7. There were roughly 20 students, from both graduate and undergraduate levels singing traditional Ukrainian carols to the residents of the city’s west end. The students were well received, as their singing was surprisingly in tune, and they were even able to harmonize.

Soon after kolyada, USC's Pre-Malanka took place at Ye Olde Brunswick House on Bloor St. on January 13, the night before the SUM (Ukrainian Youth Association) Malanka.  The Pre-Malanka Pub has become a trademark event for the USC at U of T. Over 600 people were in attendance this year, enjoying the fine Lvivske and Slavutych beers, along with Zirkova vodka at the bar rail all night. People from all over North America were there, including big groups from New Jersey, New York, Ottawa and Montreal.  It was a hugely successful evening for the club, and everyone had a fantastic time.

And although malanka season seems to be coming to a close, for Americans, deb-season is just around the corner, offering a smooth transition to the zabava season.  The USC at U of T is also of the same mind-set, and has a zabava coming up on February 18 at St. Vladimir Institute, 620 Spadina Ave.  It’s a Mardi-Gras themed zabava, with the band Ukrainia performing.

The zabava will fall on the same weekend as the St. Vladimir Institute National Exchange, so there will be students from all over Canada in attendance that night.  An all-ages event, with a wrist-band policy in effect, and a five-dollar cover, this new zabava will surely prove to be another successful and amazing night.