Soyuzivka closes summer season with Labor Day weekend festivities (09/07/97)

Soyuzivka closes summer season with Labor Day weekend festivities

by Serhiy Myroniuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - Soyuzivka, the Ukrainian National Association's Catskills resort, said goodbye to the summer season with four days of celebration that ended on Labor Day, Monday, September 1.

The traditional festivities, attended by hundreds of guests from different states, as well as Canada and Ukraine, included concerts, fireworks, sports and dancing.

"I am pleasantly surprised to see so many people this year," said Bohdan Stashkiv, vocalist from Ukraine, who performed inside the Veselka auditorium on Sunday, August 31. Mr. Stashkiv added that he saw fewer guests at Soyuzivka four years ago - the last time he had been here. The Sunday concert also featured Teodor Kukuruza, poet and songwriter, who performed his own songs.

The previous night the Veselka terrace was so crowded that it was difficult to get through to the dance floor where guests enjoyed the music of Tempo. At midnight on Saturday, the crowd cheered and applauded as the sky was lit up by colorful fireworks.

A big attraction was the Viter Ukrainian Dancers from Edmonton who gave two performances. On Saturday evening the 30 young dancers shared the stage in the Veselka auditorium with the band Lvivyany. The next day they again received big rounds of applause as they alternated performances with vocalist Irchyk from Lviv.

Irchyk made no less an impression on the audience, which greeted her with enthusiasm.

Meanwhile, the tennis tournament, which had started the day before with the raising of the U.S., Canadian and Ukrainian flags, was under way. The annual competition, this year dedicated to the sixth anniversary of Ukrainian independence, ended on Monday. The men's champion, Will Ritter from Alabama, took home an $800 prize presented by Winner Ford Corp. In other sports competitions, swimmers of all ages competed on Saturday, while next to the pool, the fourth annual Koolzak/Suzi-Q Volleyball Tournament was held.

There were at least two "zabavy" every night during the celebration. Luna, Tempo, Fata Morgana and Lvivyany took turns playing inside the Veselka auditorium and on the Veselka terrace.

One more thing reminded the guests that the summer season has ended. Ihor Romaniuk from Kerhonkson sold mushrooms which in Ukraine are usually associated with the advent of fall. Displayed on a net, supported by four bales of hay, the mushrooms were one of the main points of attraction.

"Where did you pick them?" people asked Mr. Romaniuk.

"I didn't pick them. I cultivated them," he replied, adding that he has a farm. The mushrooms sold for $2 a piece on average and were unusual, he explained, as they were from Japan.

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