NYC street festival opens May 19 (05/07/06)

A Ukrainian Summer: where to go, what to do...

NYC street festival opens May 19

by Taras Schumylowych

NEW YORK - On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, May 19, 20 and 21, Seventh Street (between Second and Third avenues) will be closed to traffic and open for a celebration by the Ukrainian community of New York City.

St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church is sponsoring the 30th annual street festival, which promises to be the biggest and best yet. The official opening will be on Friday evening.

There will be many booths featuring Ukrainian foods - varenyky, kovbasa, holubtsi and home-baked goods. Others will sell Ukrainian arts and crafts: embroideries, wood carvings, ceramics and pysanky (traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs).

The famous Ukrainian chorus Dumka of New York will give a concert of sacred Ukrainian music at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church on Sunday, May 21, at 1:15 p.m. The Dumka Chorus performs under the direction of Maestro Wasyl Hrechynskyj.

Enjoy the weekend outdoors, listening to singers and watching those ever-famous Ukrainian dancers with their boundless energy, amazing high jumps and spectacular steps performing the "Hopak" and other folk dances.

All in all, the street festival presents an excellent opportunity to discover or revisit this fascinating ethnic neighborhood in the East Village. Come see this thriving Ukrainian community, which has blended its rich cultural traditions into the fabric of New York City life.

A Ukrainian Summer (main page)

| Home Page |