Zena Kossar, co-founder of the Caravan Festival announced on June 5 at a Caravan media preview held at Bata Shoe Museum that an essay contest would honour her late husband’s contribution to the promotion of multiculturalism. In the memory of the late president and co-founder of Caravan, Leon Kossar, two educational scholarship awards of $500 each have been created for the best 500 word essays on the subject of “The value of my cultural traditions, my involvement in the community, and the importance of Festival Caravan.”
The contest is open to students in Ontario schools, in grades 9 through 12. Entries must be submitted to the Festival Caravan office no later than midnight, July 31. Essays may be left with Festival Caravan representatives at any pavilion, in the same place that Tobago trip entry forms should be left. The judges’ decision is final.
Leon Kossar was born February 11, 1929 in Saskatoon. His father, Volodymyr, who emigrated to Canada two years earlier, was the longest serving president of the Ukrainian National Federation, holding the position for 17 years from 1937 to 1954. During the fifities, Kossar produced a number of shows for television and in 1967 created the Nationbuilders program. The following year, he and his wife Zena (née Strilchuk) founded the Caravan festival, which highlights the diversity of ethnic culture in Toronto. He was also a founder of the Canadian Folk Arts Council and helped organize some of the performances of Canadian talent at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. Kossar died last year aged 73.
For more information visit www.festivalcaravan.com