Brian Reilly
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Lena Howansky sells T-shirts and books at the Lemko History and Heritage table.
Irene Rejent Saviano
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Vasyl Harhaj serves as master of ceremonies of the Lemko Vatra for the 15th time.
ELLENVILLE, N.Y. – Rain showers all weekend long did not dampen the celebration of the 15th annual Lemko “Vatra,” coordinated by the Organization for the Defense of Lemko Western Ukraine (OOL) on the campgrounds of the Ukrainian Youth Association (UAYA) in Ellenville, N.Y., on June 27-28.
The opening ceremony took place under the UAYA’s covered outdoor pavilion, next to which OOL leaders lit the festival’s traditional “vatra,” or bonfire. Vasyl Harhaj, the “starosta,” or master of ceremonies for the 15th year in a row, welcomed the guests who packed the pavilion and, in turn, was presented with a plaque from OOL expressing appreciation for his unwavering service to the Lemko Vatra in 2001-2015.
Among the opening ceremony speakers was OOL member Peter Kosciolek, who described the history of the Lemko Vatra and encouraged everyone to look at the poster boards of photos and television with video clips that were displayed around the festival’s food court, showing images from the past 15 years of the event. Mark Howansky, president of OOL, welcomed the guests, thanked the sponsors and urged everyone to take a copy of the Lemko Vatra’s new and beautifully designed program book.
Sofiya Fedyna, renowned Ukrainian singer and president of the World Federation of Ukrainian Lemko Unions, signaled the beginning of the cultural program by singing the Lemko hymn “Hory Nashi” (Our Mountains).
Festival-goers were treated to a lively concert featuring Lemko song and dance. Highlights included the Karpaty dance ensemble, which donned Lemko folk costumes of blue vests and white pants for the males and blue vests, red pleated skirts, yellow pleated aprons and white kerchiefs for the females as it greeted the audience.
Ms. Fedyna performed Lemko songs from her albums, as well as discussed her fund-raising for the Ukrainian army before singing a lullaby she wrote for Ukrainian soldiers currently at war. Each of the subsequent musical acts – including the folk band Korinya from New Paltz, N.Y., the sisters Petryshyn from New Jersey, the Canadian duo Mozaika and the Lviv-based rock band Vatra – added some personal flair to their performance of traditional Lemko music.
Other events at the Lemko Vatra included a Children’s Song Competition, which was won by 4-year-old Daria Voznyak for her adorable performance of the Lemko folk song “Chyie zh to Pole ne Orane” (Whose Field is that not Plowed). And the Vatra Cup soccer tournament, which was won by the International Soccer Club from Kerhonkson, N.Y., by defeating FC Karpaty (Passaic, N.J.), KLP (Passaic) and last-year’s champion Ukrainian Sports Club (New York). At night, the Lemko Vatra’s guests then danced under the pavilion to live music by the band Anna Maria.
The festivities continued on Sunday, when the program moved inside UAYA’s main hall. Ms. Fedyna gave a keynote presentation in the hall about the state of Lemko organizations around the world, a taped copy of which can be found on the OOL YouTube Channel. Additional performances of Lemko song and dance followed.
Throughout the weekend, guests were also able to visit OOL’s Lemko History and Heritage Table, where genealogist Justin Kirk Houser was available to answer questions about researching one’s roots, and the Lemko Research Foundation (LRF) sold items ranging from maps about the Lemko region, to Lemko Vatra T-shirts, to books on Lemko history, architecture, poetry and culture. (For those unable to attend the Lemko Vatra this year, please note that LRF’s books can be bought online at either www.lemko-ool.com or amazon.com and Lemko Vatra T-shirts in remaining limited sizes can be bought by contacting [email protected].)
Diana Howansky Reilly is press secretary of the Organization for the Defense of Lemko Western Ukraine.