DATELINE NEW YORK: A pre-Christmas walk through Little Ukraine (12/20/98)

DATELINE NEW YORK: A pre-Christmas walk through Little Ukraine

by Helen Smindak

Taking an annual pre-Christmas ramble in Manhattan last weekend, "Dateline" observed the Big Apple's Ukrainian community hustling and bustling with holiday preparation at uptown and downtown locations.

A stop at the Ukrainian Institute of America on Fifth Avenue and 79th Street found executive director Stephanie Charczenko directing groups through the institute's side and front entrances like an air-traffic controller guiding planes in and out of an airport, shushing excited pre-schoolers as they left their music class with mothers and teacher Marta Sawycky, pointing musicians to their rehearsal room for a session with composer/pianist Myroslav Skoryk and conductor Virko Baley before the next day's concert, answering a reporter's questions, and greeting guests at the front door as they arrived to attend a private Christmas party.

Downtown, in the East Village, at 203 Second Ave., staffers of The Ukrainian Museum were readying items for the Christmas bazaar scheduled for December 13, while at 98 Second Ave., members of Branch 64 of the Ukrainian National Women's League of America performed similar chores in preparation for a two-day weekend sale of gift items and wheat, walnuts and dried fruits for the traditional Christmas Eve "kutia."

At the Ukrainian Liberation Front building, members of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) "druzhynnyky" group were putting finishing touches on decorations for their annual evening of folklore and fortune-telling - the "Andriyivskyi Vechir" based on the games and elaborate dating rituals traditionally held in Ukraine on the eve of St. Andrew's feast day.

Meanwhile, some two blocks away at St. George's Academy on East Sixth Street, Sister Monica was overseeing the final rehearsal for Sunday afternoon's Christmas concert; that information came from the Rev. Bernard Panczuk when I stopped at the St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church rectory to check out the January calendar.

Throughout the Village, Ukrainian shops and boutiques were busy serving customers in their quest for unusual gifts and traditional Ukrainian foods. For readers who haven't completed their gift shopping or who need ideas for dinner and party menus, "Dateline's" shop and market listings further in this column may be helpful.

Holiday programs

With Vasyl Hrechynsky directing, the Dumka Chorus of New York presented a concert of Ukrainian sacred music and carols in St. Patrick's Chapel at Rutgers University on December 6. Though immersed in plans and rehearsals for a 50th anniversary celebration in October 1999, the mixed chorus will take time to present carol songfests at St. George's Church (on January 10) and St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Church (on January 17). For a bit of fun, Dumka choristers will join members of the Ukrainian Sports Club for the annual New Year's dance on January 14 at the Ukrainian National Home. Worthy of note is the fact that Mr. Hrechynsky brought distinction and honor upon himself and Ukrainian classical music when he completed work for a master's degree in sacred music at Westminster Choir College of Rider University a few months ago. As his "thesis," he taught and conducted a choir of multi-ethnic voices in an impressive performance of works by Lysenko, Stetsenko and Bortniansky, sung in Ukrainian.
Appearing in Tenafly, N.J., in a special program that honored women's creativity, the Promin Ensemble was directed by Bohdanna Wolansky in a series of schedrivky. The concert, held on December 13 at Deer Ledge Mansion, the home of Florence Bocarius-Sahaidachny, also featured soprano Lesia Hrabova in songs by contemporary Ukrainian women composers. Mrs. Bocarius-Sahaidachny, the widow of journalist Petro Sahaidachny, annually hosts events to which United Nations dignitaries are invited. On January 10 the Promin group (which has become quite popular as an entertainment ensemble at Ukrainian weddings), will present a Christmas program in New York at the SUM concert hall, 136 Second Ave., sponsored by the Dibrova Club. Afterwards, Promin singers and SUM members will join in a reception and carol sing-along at the Dibrova Club in the same building.
The Ukrayinska Rodyna (Ukrainian Family) ensemble, formed last year by musicologist Oksana Lykhovyd of Brooklyn, is giving a series of Ukrainian Christmas music concerts this holiday season. Having appeared last Sunday at Holy Cross Ukrainian Catholic Church in Astoria, Queens, the ensemble continues with a presentation on December 20 at 1 p.m. at All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 206 E. 11th St. in Manhattan. On December 27 the ensemble will combine forces with the local Plast youth organization to give a concert at the Ukrainian National Home. A 1 p.m. concert is scheduled for January 3 at St. Mary's Byzantine-Rite Catholic Church, 246 E. 15th St.
The Ukrainian Broadcasting Network has announced that UBN subscribers will be able to hear taped broadcasts from Ukraine of the papal liturgy in Rome and the pope's Christmas greeting to the world, with Ukrainian commentary, on December 24 at 11:55 p.m. and December 25 at 12:55 p.m. Christmas radio programs will be beamed from Ukraine via satellite on December 24 at 6 p.m. and December 25 at 10 p.m. According to UBN General Manager Ihor Dlaboha, non-subscribers can catch the TV programs at the Dibrova Club in New York, the Ukrainian American Sports Center in Philadelphia, the Ukrainian National Home in Hartford, Conn., and the Ukrainian cultural centers in Los Angeles and Warren, Mich., Mr. Dlaboha said that each weekday morning at 8 a.m. on WNJR, 1430 on the AM dial, UBN will be offering "Christmas-flavored Ukrainian programs."
The Moiseyev Dance Company, making its 10th U.S. tour early next year, is scheduled to appear at Carnegie Hall on January 13 and 14. The finale for the company's program of Russian, Belarusian and Moldovan dances? You guessed it - the Ukrainian Hopak.

Ukrainian boutique and shops

The gold-lettered sign above the front windows reads Surma Book & Music Co., but the shop is known for its Old World ambiance and general merchandise, including icons and intricately carved wood crosses, books and periodicals (in Ukrainian or English), tapes and CDs, amber and bead jewelry, decorative lacquered boxes and brooches, Easter eggs, embroidered ritual cloths and stacks of greeting cards. Owner Myron Surmach pointed out an unusual gift idea that's catching on - ostrich eggs, with the contents blown out, that sell for $17.50 apiece. The shop's address is 11 E. Seventh St.; telephone, (212) 477-0729.
A changing display of art work is usually on view (and for sale) at the Mayana Gallery, housed on the fourth floor of the Ukrainian Liberation Front Home on Second Avenue. Mayana's most recent exhibit presented contemporary fashions, art and folk crafts brought from Ukraine by artist Zenovija Krakovetska, chairman of the Lviv Regional Center of the League of Masters of Folk Art in Ukraine. Included among exceptionally beautiful woven and embroidered fashions were two-piece wedding outfits based on costumes of the Volyn, Chernivtsi and Polissia regions (prices ranged from $200 to $300), blouses with dainty, delicate embroidery and cutwork patterns, and men's embroidered shirts and trim wool coats. Other items: flame-blown glass ornaments in animal and bird shapes, by Fedir Mayik of Lviv ($10 for a tiny mouse, $70 for a fish in fantastic colors); wood pencil cups in the shape of masks; Kozak spoons with chaika-shaped handles; three-pronged wood candleholders; jewelry designs in porcelain, stone, ceramic and leather; and colorful kilims. Art work by Lviv-born Roman Demko of Union, N.J., also was on exhibit. Beginning this weekend and running through January 19. Mayana director Slava Gerulak is showing art work with Christmas themes by various artists. (136 Second Ave.; 212-260-4490.)
The Second Avenue boutique that bears the name Maria M. has been guided for 13 years by Maria Marko, who's been active on the Manhattan merchandising front for the past 37 years. Her shop specializes in sparkling rhinestone and amber jewelry with unusual settings, beaded evening bags, silk and velvet scarves, and rich velvet Indian tunics made for evenings on the town. Picture frames and Christmas ornaments also are hot items. (128 Second Ave., 212-673-6219.)
The gift shop at The Ukrainian Museum has a fine stock of art work (prints and originals) by such eminent artists as Jacques Hnizdovsky, Bohdan Bozhemsky and Arcadia Olenska-Petryshyn, as well as art books, posters, exhibit catalogues, ceramics, jewelry, inlaid-wood articles and embroidered blouses. There are also Christmas ornaments hand-crafted from straw, beads, walnut shells and glossy colored paper, like the decorations used to trim the museum's Ukrainian "yalynka." (203 Second Ave.; 212-228-0110.)
Molode Zhyttia, the gift shop run by the Plast Ukrainian Youth Organization, can provide Plast uniforms and badges, but the merchandise in the windows and shelves is not of that variety. You'll be greeted instead by such wares as cassette tapes, amber and wood jewelry, carved wood objects (vases, plates and crosses), Hutsul and Trypillian pottery, Ukrainian-motif Christmas ornaments (made here) and oils by artist Bohdan Soroka of Lviv, whose work was recently exhibited at The Ukrainian Museum. An unusual toy: five tiny chickens attached with strings to a small wood paddle begin pecking when the paddle is moved ($14). (308 E. Ninth St.; 212-673-9530.)
Folk-dance instructor Daria Genza, who used to direct the Verkhovyntsi Dance Ensemble with her husband, the late Oleh Genza, is the local representative for the Meest Corp. She handles the packing and shipping of clothing parcels to Ukraine (79 cents a pound if by sea, $2.19 a pound if by air). Her Delta Co. shop offers a wide selection of clothing for men, women and children, and will also ship clothing brought in by customers. As a Meest agent, Mrs. Genza can take orders for food parcels, bikes, appliances, electronics, even tractors and cars, and arrange money transfers and letters, simplifying the task of assisting one's relatives in Ukraine. (318 E. Ninth St.; 212-228-2266.)
Fialka, a fashion boutique run by Luba Firchuk, deals in brand-new and gently used designer clothing and accessories. Here you can find an Hermes scarf, a Christian Dior raccoon coat and Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein fashions, together with short cocktail dresses and long evening gowns. Ms. Firchuk also sells current and vintage-style jewelry, sunglasses, "some very nice shoes" and smart handbags. (324 E. Ninth St.; 212-460-8615.)
Delto Gift Shop proprietor Zenon Iwanycky does not carry gift items for jazzy Christmas presents, but he does stock flowered kerchiefs, scarves and sturdy sweaters, among other items, to send to Ukraine through the Meest Corp. (122 First Ave.; 212-533-2906.)
The Arka Company on First Avenue, though small in size, is big on inventory - everything from banduras, embroidered "ryzy" (clerical vestments), CD and videos to children's books, many of them small and made in fold-out style to hold the attention of small readers. Owners Nicholas and Maria Drobenko also point to a fine stock of wool and acrylic floral kerchiefs and a newly published book titled "Simply Ukraine" that features photographs by Tania D'Avignon ($40). Very much in view was an incredible piece of craftsmanship, a foot-high replica of a Hutsul church, created without a drop of glue. (26 First Ave.; 212-473-3550.)

Meats and delicacies

Three Ukrainian meat markets in the East Village offer fresh meats and cured meat products, chiefly the well-known, spicy sausage known as kovbasa (though the American public and Martha Stewart insist on calling it kielbasa).

Jerry Kurowycky Sr., who runs the Kurowycky Meat Market with his son Jerry Jr., says, "Our people don't eat meat at Christmastime, but we sell a lot of hams to our non-Ukrainian customers." For Christmas parties he suggests kovbasa and kabanos, a spicier thin version of kovbasa, especially tasty when sliced and served with honey mustard. A Kurowycky tip in the cold cuts department: Krakiwska kovbasa, sliced very thin. The Kurowycky Meat Market, which has become famous because of its exposure on the Martha Stewart television show and high ratings from the Zagat Survey, offers Eastern European products such as dried mushrooms, hirchytsia (very strong Ukrainian mustard), horseradish, jams, syrups, teas and soups, as well as some breads and pastries made by local Polish and Lithuanian bakeries. (124 First Ave.; 212-477-0344.)
Also on First Avenue is the B & M Meat Market and European Products, opened in September 1997 by Bohdan and Maria Tsich, who came here several years ago from Ternopil, western Ukraine. The market's main seller is homemade sausages; holubtsi, pyrohy and kotliety are also available. Assisting their parents and with work of running the business are Halyna, Mykhajlo and Oksana, all students at New York's Hunter College. (111 First Ave.; 212- 982-7070.)
The East Village Meat Market & Deli, owned by Julian Baczynsky, boasts an energetic staff of butchers and clerks who follow customers' requests to the letter. In addition to fresh cuts of meat, several varieties of kovbasa and a selection of cold cuts, including saltseson, they serve up bryndzia (sheep's milk cheese), chicken studynets, bigos (hunter's-style stew) and home-made babkas. (139 Second Ave.; 212-228-5590.)

| Home Page |