It’s late June, and many places here in the United States are beginning to reopen after two and a half to three months of restrictions imposed to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. Back on April 12, in our editorial titled “Hope is not cancelled,” we cited some examples of how our community organizations were continuing their activities despite the pandemic. We also invited readers to inform us, and through us the community at large, about how you’re handling things in your area. To those who have done so: Thank you!
The Ukrainian American Veterans in Philadelphia, wearing face masks, remembered fallen comrades on Memorial Day. Community members in upstate New York, also sporting face masks, came together for their annual clean-up around the Taras Shevchenko monument in Troy. Yara Arts Group of New York scheduled a series of virtual poetry and folk arts events. The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation held an online film screening and discussion related to the anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. The Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus held virtual streaming rehearsals for its musicians.
Editor Matthew Dubas has tried to keep track of coronavirus-related developments in our Ukrainian American organizations. Early on, his front-page story reported how our community was coping amid COVID-19; among the adaptations he cited were online Ukrainian school classes and online sing-alongs organized by a Plast member. One of his stories was about the Ukrainian Institute of America organizing a virtual pysanka workshop. He also reported that Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and the Ukrainian American Youth Association had cancelled their summer camps for 2020, but that both said they will take their camp experiences online in order to serve their young members. Among other information he compiled: the Ukrainian Educational and Cultural Center in Jenkintown, Pa., was working hard to connect with its Philadelphia-area community via an e-newsletter that contains a music, theater and film playlist, and it was offering online Ukrainian language classes thanks to a partnership with the School of Ukrainian Language and Culture at the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. Most recently, Mr. Dubas shared information about how the Ukrainian National Home of Syracuse, N.Y., is supporting its activities with take-out food sales and how the Ukrainian American Sports Center Tryzub in Horsham, Pa., had reopened with outdoor service of food and drinks.
Our colleague Mark Raczkiewycz has filed stories from Chicago’s Ukrainian Village neighborhood to let us know what’s happening there and how our fellow Ukrainians, among them local businesspeople, are handling the pandemic restrictions. Some of the interesting info he provided: yoga classes were held via Zoom, online exhibits were presented by the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art and the Ukrainian National Museum, and the comprehensive Ukrainian exams of Ukrainian studies schools took place online. Now, he reports, the faithful can attend liturgies and businesses are coming back.
Sadly, some events have had to be cancelled, among them the summer sleepaway camps at Soyuzivka Heritage Center, as noted on page 5 of this issue. Though the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America celebrated its 80th anniversary with a virtual gathering, inviting the community to join in, its XXIII Congress of Ukrainian Americans, the quadrennial convention traditionally held during the years of U.S. presidential elections, has been postponed to next year. Likewise, the Lemko Vatra will skip a year and promises to come back in 2021. We’re sure there are many other organizations and institutions that have made adjustments to their programming. Keep us posted!
FYI, we publish basic information about upcoming Ukrainian events in our Out & About column, a free listing, so that the community at large can participate. (A pet peeve of ours: Why do folks think that, if an event is held online or is virtual, no advance notification is needed?) We encourage others to make use of this community newspaper to get the word out about their worthwhile work.
In the meantime, we feel some words of praise are due to our organizations and institutions for their creativity and hard work at this extraordinary time of isolation and social distancing. Thank you for keeping our community going!