Jersey shore town plays host to youth-oriented "Ukrainian Week" (09/12/99)

Jersey shore town plays host to youth-oriented "Ukrainian Week"

by Areta N.L. Trytjak
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WILDWOOD, N.J. - The Ukrainian community in the Eastern United States offers its youth a variety of settings and events for meeting one another.

For example, in the fall there are several planned gatherings at the Ukrainian centers of Philadelphia, Passaic, N.J., and New York City, to name a few. During the winter months, debutante balls held in Philadelphia, New York and New Jersey allow both young and old to enjoy the gaiety of fine dining and elegant dress.

As is customary, there are few organized festivities during the springtime prior to Easter, but as the months get warmer and the days longer, many start to migrate to their favorite summer retreats in upstate New York, including Glen Spey, Narrowsburg and Hunter. Throughout the summer, Soyuzivka offers our youth occasions galore for partying, playing and relaxing!

But just before everybody heads out to "Suzy-Q" for the end-of-summer Labor Day weekend bash, they spend a week basking in the sun in a southern New Jersey beach town called Wildwood.

Ever since I can remember, the third week of August has always held a special place on everyone's agenda of "Things To Do During the Summer." Last year, for example, I worked the entire summer just to raise enough money to go to Wildwood for the week, and to pay off some bills before school started. And the year before that, I cut short my trip to Ukraine in order to make it home on time for what is commonly known among Ukrainians as "Wildwood Week" or, among the general public in Wildwood, as "Ukrainian Week."

The truth of the matter is that there's nothing that compares to a week spent at the beach with your family - and especially with your Ukrainian friends!

One of the most amazing aspects of "Wildwood Week" is that nobody organizes it. It just happens. Anybody who goes knows that the beginning of "Wildwood Week" actually occurs two weeks before Labor Day weekend, so that there's a free week in between the last weekend of Wildwood and Labor Day weekend. (The week in between, when everybody starts school or has to go back to work, serves its own important function - it's a time of rest, recuperation and preparation for the official final weekend of the summer at Suzy-Q.)

Over the years, the youth population at Wildwood has grown to well over 150 people. Friends from as far west as California, as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida venture out to Wildwood to be a part of the festivities.

There's a particular place where everybody always congregates on the beach: directly in front of the Pan Am Hotel on the 5800 block of the Wildwood strip. The young people set up their beach chairs and the traditional volleyball net at the back of the beach by the dunes, as far away from the water as possible.

I suppose its always been done that way so that there's enough separation from the parents, who also stay for the week but sit close by the water. Unfortunately, on those really hot days everybody at the back of the beach is subjected to the obligatory march to the water's edge for some much-needed refreshment. The baked sand feels unbearably hot, and the walk always seems to take forever.

A lot of young people who can't make it down to Wildwood for the full week show up for the final weekend - usually finding themselves sorely in need of a tan as compared to the rest of the crew. But missing out on the beginning of the week doesn't exclude them from the weekend's festivities - the highlight of "Wildwood Week."

Those 21 years of age or older usually get together at the Fairview Cafe on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings for dancing, pool playing and more socializing. And after an evening at the Fairview, everyone makes the 15-block walk back to their respective hotel rooms - but not before a quick dip in the ocean or a romantic walk on the beach.

In fact, not everybody stays in hotels - especially not those who plan ahead at the beginning of the summer and decide to stay for the full week. Looking into renting a house for the week in the general "Ukrainian Section" pays off when 10 or more friends get together. Homes with three or more bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and one or two full baths can run anywhere from $1,500 to $2,500 for the full week. Also, there are many Ukrainian families who own homes in the "Ukrainian Section" of Wildwood, and they rent these out to vacationing Ukrainians during "Wildwood Week." Hotel rooms, on the other hand, can run about $100 or more a night and don't offer the luxuries of a private house or apartment.

A week in Wildwood offers Ukrainian youths a wonderful chance to spend time together, to see friends from far and near, and to make new friends throughout the course of the week. Everybody gets a chance to play together on the beach, compete in volleyball, spend time with close friends over dinner in Cape May, or enjoy the rides on the boardwalk.

Anybody who has been a part of "Wildwood Week" once can't help but return the following year.

P.S.: It would be great to see some new faces next summer! Come and join the fun - now that you know where to find us.

| Home Page |