UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (09/12/04)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

SUM's "Tabir Sumeniat" comes alive in the "Carpathians" of New York

by Khrystia Bihun

ELLENVILLE, N.Y. - Every summer for the past 20 years, in the shadow of the Shawangunk Mountains, a two-week wonderland of games and activities has taken place at SUM's Ellenville resort. This year's "Tabir Sumeniat" was aptly named "U Horakh Karpatakh" (In the Carpathian Mountains), and as "sumeniata" (children age 4-6) from the tri-state area arrived on July 25, they entered the world that truly resembles the Ukrainian Carpathians. The camp immersed the youngsters in the songs, folklore and costumes of the denizens of those magical mountains of our parents and grandparents.

"U Horakh Karpatakh" was organized and conducted by a group of seasoned counselors with many combined years of camp experience. Each morning, the young campers rotated in small groups through a schedule of five activities, each of which was conducted by a different counselor, who included Julia Kosciolek (lectures); Marianka Wasylyk (arts and crafts); Luba Zelez (storytelling); Nastia Antoniw (singing); Lesia Kuziw and Pawlo Figol (games). The camp director was Khrystia Bihun.

Each of the morning activities incorported some element of the camp's theme. During "hutirky" (lectures), sumeniata learned about the Lemkos and Hutsuls who inhabit the Carpathians, as well as about the various animals found in those mountains.

An important lesson about living in harmony with the world around us was a recurring theme. Continuing the lesson of environmental protection, the children created their own Hutsul costumes, re-using many items typically found around the house.

One of the most fun projects for the sumeniata was creating their camp banner. The children used paint to make footprints on a banner, and these became the Carpathian mountains; fingerprints became Hutsuls and Lemkos living in these mountains. The banner was hung in the camp and greeted the children every morning as they came in for activities. The storytelling was equally creative, using a mix of Ukrainian folklore with contemporary stories to bring the Carpathians alive for the children. Games required the children to look for lost sheep in the "meadows" and go galloping on wild horses. During choral instruction, they learned the camp song "U Horakh Karpatakh," and a repertoire of songs revolving around "chabany" (sheepherders), "dudaryky" (pipers) and "zozulky" (ladybugs). The talented youngsters combined their voices with musical instruments (violins, sopilky - flutes and svyshchyky - whistles) and dance, and presented their parents with the Arkan as part of the program for parents at the conclusion of camp.

The afternoons were filled with a variety of activities to please all the children. Water games helped cool everyone off, and dances, folk tales, campfires and an Olympiad to coincide with this year's Olympics in Athens were all part of the fun. The Olympiad was planned, prepared and run by the counselors in training, a talented and enthusiastic group of young women that included Sonia Chebiniak, Nadia Wyrsta and Chrystia Wyrsta and Dartsia Shafran. The Olympiad was complete with eight trials/competitions that each child completed followed by an obligatory gold medal for each participant at the closing ceremonies. The counselor trainees presented a puppet show called "Try Svynky" (The Three Little Pigs), and entertained everyone at the camp bonfire.

The camp program also included field trips to a local farm to pick corn and blueberries, as well as to feed the barnyard animals, and to the Ulster County Fair where the sumeniata enjoyed farm animals, dog and horse shows, and carnival rides.

For more information about SUM and the summer camp programs, readers may visit SUM's website at www.CYM.org or call the Ellenville camp at (845) 647-7230.

Hartford SUM youths celebrate ancient feast of Kupalo

HARTFORD, Conn. - Members of the Hartford, Conn., branch of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (which most of you readers know as SUM - that's for Spilka Ukrainskoyi Molodi) gathered recently to celebrate the ancient Ukrainian feast of Ivan Kupalo, which traditionally marked the end of the summer solstice and the beginning of the harvest. The gathering, which was held at J.B. Williams Park in nearby Glastonbury, Conn., also marked the end of the educational season for the SUM youths. Seen in the photos are the branch members, with girls wearing the traditional wreaths; and the girls launching their wreaths adorned with lit candles on the park's pond.

43 children attend Vacation Church School

PARMA, Ohio - The 12th annual Vacation Church School, sponsored by St. Vladimir's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, was held from Monday, August 2, through Friday, August 6. Forty-three children were enrolled in the school. This year's theme was "Living in an Orthodox World." Pictured are the children of the Vacation Church School, together with the parish clergy and teachers.

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the words on the list below in the Mishanyna grid. To get you in the "back to school" frame of mind, all the words below are somehow related to the curriculum of schools of Ukrainian studies.

history, customs, geography, alphabet, literature, Dnipro, Hrushevsky, Kyiv, Carpathians, architecture, vowels, religion, culture, Kozak, Ukrainka, Franko, Black Sea, language, hetman

OUR NAME: UKELODEON: it rhymes with nickelodeon. Yes, that's a kids' network (spelled with a capital "N"), but the original word referred to an early movie theater that charged a nickel for admission.

According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, the root of the word, "odeon," is from the Greek "oideion," a small building used for public performances of music and poetry.

Our UKELODEON is envisioned as a public space where our youth, from kindergartners to teens, can come to learn, to share information, to relate their experiences, and to keep in touch with each other. Its contents will be shaped by the young readers of the next generation.

OUR NEXT ISSUE: UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated October 10, please send in your materials by October 1.

We especially encourage kids and teens to submit articles and see their names in print. And don't forget to send a photo or two. Plus, photos of UKELODEON reporters - that means any of you young readers who submit a story - are welcome.

Please drop us a line: UKELODEON, The Ukrainian Weekly, 2200 Route 10, P.O. Box 280, Parsippany, NJ 07054; fax, (973) 644-9510; phone, (973) 292-9800; e-mail, [email protected].

(We ask all contributors to please include a daytime phone number.)

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