Summer season - the 44th - opens at Soyuzivka (07/19/98)

Summer season - the 44th - opens at Soyuzivka

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - Soyuzivka, the upstate New York resort of the Ukrainian National Association, officially opened its 44th summer season over the Independence Day weekend, July 3-5. Traditionally the weekend includes entertainment, dances and a tennis tournament, and this year's Fourth of July was no different.

Guests began arriving for the long holiday weekend at the resort already on Thursday evening, July 2. As seen in the photos here (counterclockwise, beginning with photo on left), it was a lovely summer weekend as young and old enjoyed Soyuzivka's beautiful pools; Peter Iwasiwka, the assistant to our intrepid photographer, took some time off to enjoy a Q-Café hot dog and then to play with friends at the resort's playground; and the Zacharczuk family from Worcester, Pa., (from left) Xenia, Sofia, Luka and Danylo, arrived for the second round of the incomparable "Tabir Ptashat," the preschoolers' day camp organized by the Plast sorority "Pershi Stezhi" and run with the active input of campers' parents.

The Saturday evening concert program featured the Dunai Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, seen above taking a bow during the performance in the Veselka auditorium. The Ontario troupe's artistic director and choreographer is Orest Samitz. Also on the program was bandurist Julian Kytasty (right) of New York.

After the concert and during the previous evening, guests enjoyed dancing to the music of Luna, Tempo and Burlaky. A special treat was the performance on Friday night of the Midnight Bigus band, which played into the wee hours of the morning to the delight of denizens of the Trembita lounge.

"Tabir Ptashat," meanwhile, concluded its first week of activities with a birthday party celebrating the camp's 10th anniversary. In the photo on the left, Borislaw the Clown (who speaks Ukrainian) entertained the 4- to 6-year-olds as camp director Marusia Borkowsky looked on. Above, the campers and counselors pose for a commemorative photo in their 1998 camp T-shirts. Below, Neonila Sochan, the "mother of Tabir Ptashat," i.e., the founder and organizer of these Plast camps for preschoolers which have been held at Soyuzivka since 1988, receives a 10th anniversary gift from a troop of campers.

In a more serious vein, a group of young professionals who are former summer employees of the resort have resolved to save Soyuzivka. Setting up a table at the Veselka pavilion under a banner reading "It's now or never... Help preserve Soyuzivka" (as seen in the center photo), the group urged resort guests to "invest in Soyuzivka" by joining a new branch of the Ukrainian National Association which will be based at the resort and will help support its activities. All commissions from the sale of UNA policies to members who belong to this branch will be donated to Soyuzivka.

Seen in the photo on the bottom left of page 10 are: (from right) Soyuzivka Manager John A. Flis, Andrew Cymbal, Stephen Barankewicz, Andrij Olynec and Roman Bilewicz. On sale were T-shirts bearing the slogan "Soyuzivka closes over my dead body, and I'm U.N.A. insured!!!"; on the back of the shirt were the words "Being Ukrainian shouldn't be a seasonal thing. Help preserve Soyuzivka." The message: if you really want to save Soyuzivka, you should be a UNA member.

The ad hoc group, which includes Messrs. Barankewicz, Olynec and Cymbal, Natalka Barankewicz and Tanya Singura - all members of the UNA - met with the fraternal organization's executive officers at the UNA Home Office in Parsippany, N.J., on June 25.

In the works are other events and promotions to help preserve Soyuzivka, which in accordance with a decision of the 34th Convention of the UNA is to have its 1999 season curtailed to the three-and-a-half-month period between June 1 and September 15. (Look for more on this group of young activists in future issues of The Weekly; or e-mail [email protected].)