Ukrainian Canadian miscellany
In other news in the Ukrainian Canadian community, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation organized a second medical mission to Ukraine to deal with reconstructive surgical procedures on victims of the Euro-Maidan movement. A medical team of 22 professionals, assembled entirely from volunteers across Canada, included surgeons, anaesthetists and nurses. Forty-nine patients from across Ukraine with complex post-traumatic defects received treatment for a total of 116 operating hours. The medical personnel performed 53 reconstructive procedures between May 10 and 16.
Funding for the medical missions comes largely from “United for Ukraine,” a fund-raiser organized by the CUF in September 2014, and attended by Prime Minister Harper, Wayne Gretzky and by almost 1,200 people who raised more than $200,000.
Eugene Melnyk and Bohdan Onyschuk co-chaired the fund-raising efforts for the mission. “I am grateful to the Canada Ukraine Foundation and to the thousands of Canadians who donated to our mission,” said Dr. Antonyshyn, the lead surgeon. The CUF expressed thanks for the support of Stryker Canada, which once again awarded the medical mission a grant that provided for virtually all surgical hardware and implant materials for the medical procedures.
The 2015 SUSK Congress was held May 7-10 in Montreal. The Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation as well as the Montreal branches of the Ukrainian National Federation and the UCC were major supporters of this conclave of the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union (known by its Ukrainian acronym as SUSK).The new board members included Cassian Soltykevych (president), Anastasia Hnatyuk (vice president, finance), Borys Bilaniuk (vice president, East), Alex Prokopchuk (vice-president, Central) and Andrea Dacko (vice-president, West). Congress sessions included “Current Ukraine: Historical, Economic and Social Sides of the Story”; “Current Ukraine: Helping Ukraine and Getting Involved”; reports by SUSK executive members; and a workshop on social media tools. The keynote address was delivered by former SUSK President Artem Luhovy.
Also in 2015, two Ukrainian community institutions in Edmonton were the beneficiaries of a Canadian government program that supports projects which rehabilitate existing community facilities. The funds were allocated to the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex (UYUC) and St. Josephat Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral as part of the “Canada 150” Community Infrastructure Program that celebrated Canada’s 150th anniversary. A special presentation was made on July 28 by Alberta Minister of State for Multiculturalism Tim Uppal to the two Ukrainian community groups. Accepting the gifts – totalling $350,000 – were Ivan Fedyna, president of the board of directors of the UYUC, and Larissa Podilsky on behalf of St. Josephat Cathedral.
For nearly 50 years, the UYUC has been a mainstay of Ukrainian community life in Edmonton. The “Domivka” opened its doors in 1973 as a multi-use complex. It is home to numerous organizations. St. Josephat Ukrainian Catholic Parish began to serve the spiritual needs of Ukrainian settlers in 1904. The parish rejoiced at the visits by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky in 1910 and 1921. In 1941, a new larger church was built, which became a cathedral in 1948. Work has already begun on renovating this historic site, although many generous donations will be required to complete the work.
A record number of visitors caught the Ukrainian spirit on September 18-20 as the 19th annual Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival served up a long weekend of non-stop entertainment, traditional food, cultural displays and activities for all ages. It is one of the world’s largest Ukrainian street festivals, and in 2015 it attracted crowds of 700,000. The three-day program included several stage shows featuring performers from throughout Canada, as well as the United States, Ukraine and Estonia; the Festival Parade, with 74 entries and 3,100 participants; an exhibit by the Ukrainian Association of Visual Artists of Canada; a full day of film screenings at the Runnymede Public Library; and a youth program.
The gala Saturday evening show featured Edmonton’s Volya Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of Detroit, Winnipeg’s Zrada band and the Zubrivka folk band of Toronto. The evening’s headliner band – Ot Vinta – got the audience rocking with its “Ukrabilly” music. Festival Chairman Jurij Klufas closed the event on Sunday with thank-yous to all involved. The traditional festival finale, the double-tier Hopak performed by the Barvinok Ukrainian School of Dance on the stage and the ground level, concluded the festivities.
On September 22 the Ukrainian Canadian Congress unveiled the official logo for the celebrations marking the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada. The logo was designed by the Ukrainian Canadian artist Oleh Lesiuk, a native of Lviv.
The artist explained that the logo consists of three parts: the bottom part symbolizes four waves of the immigration of Ukrainians to Canada: the waves of the ocean to be overcome, the waves of people that brought new hopes and dreams to a new land. In the central part of the logo, people are transformed into three flying cranes. These powerful birds – “zhuravli” in Ukrainian – appear often in Ukrainian music and folklore. They are a symbol of migration. The trident, superimposed on a blue crane, symbolizes Ukraine, while the wings of the cranes are ultimately transformed into a maple leaf – the national symbol of Canada.