UKELODEON: For The Next Generation (06/11/06)

UKELODEON

For The Next Generation

Iskra Dance Ensemble presents "Treasures from the Attic"

by Volodymyr Pavelchak

PALATINE, Ill. - One of the first words an infant learns to say is "Mama." Our mothers cherish us, protect us, worry about us all our lives. They teach us who we are, they guide us as we embark on the road to our future.

The second Sunday in May is Mother's Day. It is only fitting that we should honor our mothers on this day and thank them for everything they have done for us. One of the many celebrations in our community on Mother's Day was the annual spring concert of Palatine's Iskra Dance Ensemble of the Vitovsky Branch, of the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM), held at Elgin Community College in Illinois.

For over 25 years the Iskra Dance Ensemble has brought together Ukrainian youth in the northwest suburbs of Illinois, providing hundreds of them with an opportunity to learn about their rich national culture. Today those individuals who once themselves danced in the ensemble and later brought their children to classes now watch proudly as their grandchildren take their first tentative steps on stage. It is this blend of generations which ensures that our Ukrainian culture will continue to thrive.

Iskra is pleased to have an excellent staff of dance instructors, including artistic director Kalyna Vasiunec, Adriana Strilchuk, Rostyk Zbotaniv, Adrian Hulyk, Natalka Mischenko and Mykhailo Byts. They were all themselves performers in various Chicago dance ensembles, and now they bring their own children to SUM Palatine's Iskra. Today this ensemble includes four groups at various age levels and technical expertise.

The choreographer of Iskra's performance and director of the concert, titled "Treasures from the Attic," was Ms. Vasiunec. The concert provided a colorful blend of the old and the new, a feast for the eye and ear. Each group of dancers had a unique opportunity to spotlight its talents, in dances ranging from humorous vignettes to international favorites, including traditional Ukrainian folk compositions. Among the many keepsakes unearthed in the attic were the records of some of our favorite Ukrainian dance bands, and the Iskra ensemble danced to their music, bringing many a reminiscent smile to faces in the audience.

Throughout its existence SUM Palatine and Iskra have received the support of many sponsors, including Selfreliance Ukrainian American Federal Credit Union. As a member-owned cooperative financial institution, Selfreliance promotes the credit union motto "People helping people." One of its priorities is providing support to our Ukrainian youth, both individually and in the various organizations to which they belong, where they learn about their community, its traditions and culture.

During the concert Selfreliance presented a check for $3,000 to the ensemble, to support its work with Ukrainian youth, and also a check for $2,500 to the Ukrainian School in Palatine as a thank-you for its participation in the children's savings program recently introduced by the credit union at the Ukrainian Saturday schools of the Chicago area.

Hillside parish shares traditions of Ukrainian pysanky and hahilky

HILLSIDE, N.J. - The children and adults of Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church, under the direction of Bohdanna Symczyk, learned to write pysanky after the liturgy on April 2. Mrs. Symczyk did a great job of explaining the history of pysanky and providing step-by-step instructions.

Two young parishioners, Nadia Szpyhulsky and Krista Erakovic, created "vinky" (wreaths) made of beads, sold them to parishioners and then donated the proceeds to the parish's 50th Anniversary Fund. These special vinky had magnets attached to them and were great decorations for everyone's refrigerators.

Two weeks later on Sunday, April 23, under the direction of Odarka Polanskyj-Stockert, the children learned several "hahilky" (ritual spring dances and songs). The children and audience loved the hahilky so much that several hahilky were repeated several times. Even the pastor, Father Joseph Szupa, participated in some hahilky. Afterwards, the children were treated to an Easter egg hunt.

Cleveland Plast troop's project helps needy in Ukraine

by Marta Bodnaruk

CLEVELAND - "Be faithful to God and Ukraine. Always help others. Live by the Plast rules and listen to your elders." These are the three main guidelines that have been instilled in us by our scout leader, podruha Ivanka Bodnaruk, and they inspired our Nezabudky troop to take a stand by starting a project that would encompass all three of these principles.

Marta Bodnaruk, Christina Kowcz, Vika Krislaty and Lesia Mahlay are members of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization - 28th Kurin of Cleveland. These girls have been working on "druha proba" - the second of three sets of challenges for Plast youths age 11-17. There are many various requirements leading to the rank of "rozviduvachka," but the girls decided to do a group project that would help their brothers and sisters in Ukraine.

The girls' knowledge of the poor conditions and lack of supplies throughout different orphanages in Ukraine motivated them to give a helping hand by starting a collection for Children's Building No. 2. This specific orphanage focuses on newborn children through the age of 5. The collection included, but was not limited to, new and slightly used clothing, diapers, vitamins, hair brushes and shoes.

The girls started their project by creating many posters to spread public awarness of their project. Posters were distributed to different churches and the Plastova Domivka. Vika and Marta, along with her sisters, Olenka and Adriana Bodnaruk, dedicated four Sundays to standing with collection boxes for clothes and contributions at St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church and Pokrova Parish - Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church. The girls also set up a collection area at the Plast home in Parma. The Ukrainian public responded very generously with $350 in donations.

The sweet aroma of warm chocolate chip cookies, glutinous rice crispy treats, delicious brownies and rich chocolate molds filled the hallways of the Plast home on February 18 as the girls sponsored a bake sale. The sweet treats attracted many customers and a $50 profit was made, which helped pay for the shipment of the packages.

Soon, the Bodnaruk residence became busier than Grand Central Station as it turned into a drop-off center, with more and more necessities coming in each day. Taras, Marichka and Lukash Kowcz began clearing all the various retail stores for winter baby clothing. The Kowcz family even took the bulk of the collected winter wardrobe on their trip to Lviv in late February so that the children would not have to wait for warm clothing.

Zenon Krislaty traveled to Lviv in March. He visited the orphanage and presented the $350 donation to the head pediatrician.

Working with the shipping business Ohio Export Corp., owner Roman Bodnaruk took time out of his busy Saturday to help the girls package over 200 pounds of clothing. The girls were absolutely amazed by the amount of clothing they had collected.

It was the first time that the girls actually realized that their goal to abide by the three main guidelines of Plast was actually possible. It became reality via a simple project that touched each one of them individually, as well as all the people that helped them make this humanitarian effort a reality!

Marta Bodnaruk, 14, is an eighth-grade student at Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School. She is the secretary for the Nezabudky troop of Plast. Her many activities include dancing with the Kashtan Ukrainian School of Dance, playing the piano and training at Arun's Tennis Academy.

Mishanyna

To solve this month's Mishanyna, find the capitalized words on the list in the Mishanyna grid. The list below is meant to help you prepare for summer camp - which is only a few weeks away!

camp STOVE, NALGENE water bottle, sleeping PAD, pocket KNIFE, MESS KIT, SLEEPING BAG, flashLIGHT, SUNSCREEN, TENT, BACKPACK, HIKING BOOTS, FIRST AID KIT, COMPASS, insect REPELLENT, PONCHO, BINOCULARS

OUR NEXT ISSUE: UKELODEON is published on the second Sunday of every month. To make it into our next issue, dated July 9, please send in your materials by June 30.

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. Call us at (973) 292-9800; or send e-mail to [email protected]. (We ask all contributors to please include a daytime phone number.)

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.

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