Chester Kuc has Passed

When the Edmonton Ukrainian community thinks of Ukrainian dancing, a giant of a man rises in the memory. With a passion for everything Ukrainian, and a talent for community involvement nurtured by thoughtful and future's oriented parents, it is so hard to say Vichna Pamyat' (Eternal Memory) for Chester Kuc, who fell asleep in the Lord in the early morning hours of February 16, 2013.

A huge love of everything Ukrainian, with musical talent, drama skills, artistic hands and eyes, the Ukrainian community will probably mention the power of his impact on Ukrainian dancing on the prairies first. The formation of one of the largest dance schools in Edmonton, and the founding and artistic direction of both the Shumka Dancers and Cheremosh are just the most visible reminders of his work. Recognized over the years for his dedication to community, artistic work, and numerous high level ethno-cultural activities over his lifetime, Chester also received prestigious awards and accolades internationally. A gift of time, talent and treasure, Chester himself was a treasure. Highly knowledgeable in the arts, he was particular and conducted extensive research to assure authenticity in both stage representation of culture and materials, amassing a huge collection of artifacts in a variety of genres. His talent for always finding time for the important things in life allowed him to develop close ties, and influence the level of expertise across the arts spectrum, but especially so in the Ukrainian community. A father, a husband, a person of great vision and faith in the Ukrainian Canadian community has passed.
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Prayers for Chester Kuc will be served on Thursday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. at St. John's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral, 10951 - 107 Street. The Funeral Rite will be served on Friday, February 22 at 10:00 a.m. at St. John's Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral with Right Reverend Stephan Semotiuk officiating with interment in St. Michael's Cemetery.
In typical fashion, the family has requested that any donations made in Chester's memory be made to Kule Chair for Ukrainian Ethnography or to the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, 202, 952 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB R2W 3P4.
To send condolences, visit
www.parkmemorial.com

Eternal Memory!  Vichna Pamyat'!

Prairie Dreamscapes: Reimagining Your Roots

The Alberta Council for the Arts are very please to invite guests to a new exhibit this December. From December 7, 2012 to January 19, 2013, a special show entitled Prairie Dreamscapes:  Reimaginging Your Roots can be viewed at St. John's Institute in Edmonton.

Featuring Ukrainian Canadian and Ukrainian artists of several disciplines, the exhibit premiered in September at the Ukrainian Festival in Toronto - there were rave reviews.  The dreamscape concept is coming to the prairies, to its roots!

St. John's Institute on Whyte Avenue near the University of Alberta is a welcoming university residence that has a great Ukrainian Canadian heritage.  Founded originally as a Bursa, a bursary residence, under the name Hrushevsky Institute, the residence is a wonderful community!  Over the years many generations have attended St. John's Institute and built great relationships - life long friends.  It is time for your visit!

St. John's Institute are glad to welcome new thoughts, dreams and visions - and a providing a warm, generous and hospitable welcome for this beautiful art exhibit entitled Prairie Dreamscapes:  Reimaginging Your Roots.

As the poster indicates, there will be wine and refreshments for the opening night ceremonies - hope you can join the Alberta Council for the Ukrainian Arts and join the community for this lovely art exhibit!!

Alberta Summer Ukrainian Dance Programs 2012



Chelsie Dowler/Rocky View Weeklly

Ukrainian dance sisters, Kassidy and Kierra Bayda pose in costumes they wore at the Southern Alberta Ukrainian Dance Festival, March 17, at Bert Church Theatre. http://www.airdriecityview.com/article/20120314/ACV0302/303149955/0/acv

Both my daughters participated in Ukrainian dancing, but it seems I missed the Southern Alberta Ukainian Dance Festival this year!  In the past I recall great performances, super adjudicators, family and friends all there to pass on a love of Ukrainian dance, a love of Ukrainian culture, the community of Ukrainian friends!  Even now one of my daughters' friends is a girl she danced with a while back. 

The story goes this way.  My daughter and her friend were the silly girls in Ukrainian dancing, couldn't stop talking.  Had fun!  Enjoyed the learning, but really enjoyed the company.  So they danced into their teens, but couldn't remember when they met.  My daughter was looking at photos from when she was very little.  Turns out this friend was a little girl from my daughter's first Ukrainian dancing lessons, when she was a preschooler!  Turns out that the friendships you make through Ukrainian dancing are frequently the ones that follow you through life. 

If you haven't yet filled your August with Ukrainian Camp ideas, here is another one that is sure to please your young Ukrainian Dancer!!  ALTANETS'!  For summer dance workshops featuring exceptionally qualified dance teachers from Ukraine, this is Alberta's tops!  Teachers are members of this Canadian Ukrainian Dance Academy (http://www.cudacademy.com/) with a proven dance curriculum, and leveled programs for growth in dancing ability!   Alberta Ukrainian Dance Association (http://www.abuda.ca/) again presents its annual Ukrainian Summer Dance Program.  Workshops to improve technique, learn about the dance styles of various regions and styles, and learn about the Art Form that is Ukrainian Dance in Canada!!

Meeting other Ukrainian dancers from across Alberta and the provinces of Canada, enjoying Ukrainian dancing together - what fun!  The cultural program includes crafts, songs, and fun activities to help dancers capture the Ukrainian spirit in a Canadian setting! 

WORKSHOP #2: OVERNIGHT CAMP
CAMP OSELIA, LAKE WABAMUN, AB
AUGUST 5-10, 2012
INSTRUCTOR: VOLODYA MAKAROV
PRICE: $395



Hope Springs Eternal





My embroidery

Our daughter just moved away from the comforts of our home in Calgary, and into a new life far away from the embrace of the familiar - her community, friends and family. As parents, we know the human journey involves change, and her place isn't really that far from home. But if you look at it as another emigration from the "homeland" it takes on a hugely different significance.

The ancestral homeland of Ukraine sits at the crossroads of many important travel, economic and political influences.  It has been so, since forever, it seems.  So, with international opportunities beaconing from every corner of the globe, Ukrainians, like every other people, have chased, emigrated, resettled, re-acclimatized, and re-assessed their "cultural inheritance".  I mean that quite broadly, though.  " Pobutove zhittya" is probably a better descriptor than "culture", but even that needs explaining.

In this particular context I am defining culture as "everything people can pass on to ensure their progeny thrive in the future".  So when helping pack some of her things, we had to anticipate her needs, in the short term, and perhaps longer.  Then to look at all of our collected stuff, and consider what would be hers to inherit. Besides the coffee maker and towels, what could we give her to sustain her, comfort her, and prepare her for life - for it happens without our invitation.  Change happens, but somebody recently told me, it is the small stuff that reveals what a person is made of.  If so, what truly authentic messages will her "stuff" reveal about her ancestral inheritance?  About us, her parents, grandparents, great grandparents?

I was speaking with a cousin in Winnipeg, and she suggested that every child of hers would have a newly embroidered pillow, for the living room sofa.  Taking a traditional pattern, going monochromatic with the color scheme, graphic and modernly finished.......

One of her grandparents gave her a painting referring to home-ie. Ukraine. A montage of events around church, the sights, smells, and spirituality a thousand years or two in the making.  Memories of blessing baskets, eating kutia, that kind of thing.

Another family member wanted to send jars of borsch.  Food, they say, is the most tenacious of the cultural elements, because it hangs around in the memories of home, comfort and love.  Actually, my daughter makes better varenyky than I do, but nobody makes better jam than baba.

And, knowing how much fun it can be to move big bulky stuff, I sent pysanky which can sit in a bowl on the counter to remind her of the many hours we sat together dreaming of what the future would bring. The "masterpiece in the hand", the "ikon of the universe" may prove to be a conversation piece, perhaps someday someone will ask what the whirls, crosses, circles, deer, wheat, and flowers signify?

What does a family give their child who is leaving, not just an airplane trip away, but a world away, like my great grandparents did over a century ago?  What "stuff" sustained them to the degree that many generations later, we still identify with their journey? Many Ukrainian immigrations ago it was said that a person could survive with two books in hand, the Bible and Taras Shevchenko's Kobzar!   How about your family and the travails that have brought them to their Ukrainian Calgary adventure?  What really important message is hidden in the gifts you will leave in your packing trunk?

Alberta's Ukrainian Summer Camp Season 2012



life.nationalpost.com

Summer camp as a Ukie kid in Alberta was always an interesting experience.  The excitement of going to camp with your friends really overshadowed the fact that the whole summer was summer vacation!  Packing involved leaving all the trappings of "living in a house" and meant roughing it a bit.  Have to admit that the "biffy" days are over for kids these days, but there is still a lot to be gained from the outdoor summer camp experience.

For one thing, there are never enough hours to tell the stories of summer camp. Once you start telling camp stories, you might just as well .....well, maybe it is time for your children to experience the Ukie camp thing in Alberta - here are a few to choose from. 


youth.edmontoneparchy.com

The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy has their Annual Eparchial Children's Summer Camp again this year at Camp Oselia on Lake Wabamum.  This year's children's camp will take place from Sunday July 15 to Saturday July 28 and is programmed for children ages 7-14.  A safe, positive program based on Christian living, creative lessons about faith, complete with lake activities, canoeing, swimming, archery, camp fires, scavenger hunts, crafts and fun activities awaits.  The program is based on the teachings of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, but children do not need to be Ukrainian Catholic to attend.  Please make your interest in the program known at oselia.camp@gmail.com  or call 780-426-4176.     The cost of the program is $350 which includes accomodation, meal, and a t shirt.. 

Camp Oselia also hosts a Teen camp from July 30th to August 3rd, for teens ages 13-18.  Contact Namisha at 780-554-8543 or oselia.camp@gmail.com
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uocc.ca

Alberta’s beautiful Pigeon Lake, offers a quintessential overnight camp experience in a Ukrainian Orthodox setting from July 8-21, 2012 . Children 8-14 will enjoy a wide variety of cultural, sporting, religious and recreational activities, throughout this fun-filled, 2-week summer adventure!
Camp Bar-V-Nok is the perfect way to get the most out of summer and make lifelong memories from lake-side activities, off-site excursions, and unforgettable “vatra” (bonfire) and “zabava” (dance) nights. Campers will spend their days and evenings participating in:
Traditional Ukrainian arts and crafts workshops Ukrainian dance classes Swimming and canoeing Folk singing and music classes Religion lessons and services Guest presentations (various themes) Theme nights, talent shows, friendly competitions, beach activities, zabavas, vatra nights, and much more!
Camp Bar-V-Nok’s programming focuses on elements of the Ukrainian language, culture, traditions, and the Orthodox faith, in a Christian environment. Indoor and outdoor recreational activities allow children from across Alberta to interact and learn about one another’s communities.
All staff live on-site at Camp Bar-V-Nok, including the chaplain, director, co-director, counsellors and volunteers.
CAMP FEES: Camp fees include room and board, all camp activities, supplies and a camp t-shirt. Members* 1 child: $375 2 + children: $350/child Non-members: 1 child: $425 2 + children: $400/child    programs@stjohnsinstitute.com   or www.stjohnsinstitute.com  (780) 439-2320 or 1-800-439-2320.

Kiev's-K-Hi Ukrainian Orthodox Youth Camp

Summer camp offers a wonderful opportunity for boys and girls to enjoy happy character building summer days in the great outdoors near lakes and the woods. Boys and girls will receive Ukrainian Orthodox Christian religious instruction, conversational Ukrainian and a fundamental knowledge of the Ukrainian culture. They will have the opportunity to swim, dance, do crafts, participate in sports and enjoy the fun of hikes, campfires, cookouts and singsongs. All this will be accomplished in an atmosphere of friendship, trust, kindness and fun.

Camp starts July 8 for 6 - 8 yr olds       July 15 for 8 - 10. $160       July 22 for 9 - 12. $160

July 29 for 9 - 12. $160       Aug 5 for 12- 15. $190       Aug 12 for 15 - 17. $190      

All sessions run Sunday to Sunday          For more info please contact:

Linda Boser 780-826-4935       Camp Phone 780-635-2384

Charity Golf Tournament UOCC Red Deer

Last summer I started taking golf lessons.  Spent some time with a pro and actually enjoyed myself.  Then spent some time with the family, just hitting a bucket of balls.  For a workaholic like me the idea seemed so frivolous.  Actually, I have poor eye hand coordination, but it is becoming a necessary part of social life these days.  So, I am off to the golf course again very soon. I hope to get good enough to not embarrass myself at the tournament in August - the fundraiser tournament for the Red Deer Ukrainian Orthodox Church. 

Maybe you can join the group for this worthy cause!  If spending time with a good group of people is a blessing, then share this blessing with the mission minded Ukrainian Orthodox Church leaders in Red Deer.  They are hoping to gather funds for the building of their new church in Red Deer. 

Fundraising Golf Tournament in Calgary on August 11, 2012

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Mission Parish of Red Deer is hosting a charity golf tournament in Calgary on August 11, 2012 to help raise funds for their church building. The tournament is at Silverwing Links Golf Course, at 3434 48 Avenue, NE • Calgary, AB and tournament will begin at 1:30 pm. Registration opens at 12:30. The fee is $150.00 and includes 18 holes of golf, a wonderful steak dinner, and a cart rental. Dinner only tickets are $50.00. Please contact Dobr. Julie Chrapko at 403-453-5407 or orthodoxrd@gmail.com for a registration form or if you have any questions. Registration closes July 28 or when the tournament is full.

Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Mission was organized in 1999, and since its inception has been served by five pastors - priests from the UOCC, including Father Sawchenko, Father Powalinsky, Father Pozdyk, Father Bilous, and Father Chrapko. The long held dream of having their own Ukrainian Orthodox church in central Alberta is slowly coming to fruition.  The mission parish is growing steadily and meets for Liturgy and other pastoral activities at the Parkland Funeral Home in Red Deer on two Sundays a month.  Once a month the members gather for Vespers and Catechism Lessons.   

Dobrodijka Julie Chrapko was pleased to share this information with all of you.  She hopes you will participate in this venture and, on behalf of the Red Deer UOCC mission, thanks everyone for their prayers and support!

UCPBA Calgary Outstanding Achievement Award 2012 - Peter Shostak

The Annual General Meeting of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Calgary will be held on Thursday, June 21, 2012, again at the Danish Canadian Club, Valhalla Ballroom at 727 - 11th Avenue SW.
 
The Ukrainian Canadian Professional & Business Association of Calgary is delighted to announce that the recipient of its Outstanding Achievement Award for 2012 is renowned Ukrainian-Canadian artist Peter Shostak. This award is being presented to Mr. Shostak in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions over many decades, as one of Canada’s foremost artists, in commemorating, celebrating and honouring the heritage of Ukrainian pioneer settlement on the Prairies. The evening will also include an exhibit of Shostak works owned by UCPBA members and other Calgarians in attendance.

Pre-dinner entertainment will be by Absolutely Unplugged (Darren Moroz & Noella Ostash).

Mr. Shostak has kindly donated a limited edition serigraph, ‘The colours have not faded’, which will be raffled-off following Mr. Shostak’s speech.Tickets for the raffle are $10 each and may be purchased at the door. Two signed books by Mr. Shostak will also be offered as door prizes.
 

THE COLOURS HAVE NOT FADED
Serigraph Colours: sixteen
Image Size (inches): 16" X 25"
Edition Size: 90
Price: $400.00 CDN

Peter Shostak was born and raised on a farm in north-eastern Alberta. His early interest in art inspired him to major in art at the University of Alberta. In 1969, he obtained a graduate degree in Art Education and then took a teaching position at the University of Victoria. He remained there as Associate Professor of Art Education until 1979, when he decided to leave teaching and pursue a career as an artist, devoting all of his time to painting and silkscreen printing.

Much of Shostak's art reflects his memories of growing up on the prairies during the late forties and fifties. Two publications, When Nights Were Long and Saturday Came But Once A Week, reveal some of his personal history. In 1997, he collaborated with Vancouver writer, David Bouchard, on the book Prairie Born. His latest book Hockey…under winter skies was released in the fall of 2000.

Shostak's most ambitious project, to which he devoted five years of painting, was completed in 1991 with the unveiling of his series "For Our Children". These fifty large oil paintings, which portray early pioneer settlement in Western Canada (based on Ukrainian pioneer experiences), have been exhibited across Canada. All fifty paintings, along with background stories gleaned from Shostak's many years of research, are reproduced in the coffee table book For Our Children. In the introduction to this book, W.D. Valgardson states, "In his life and his art, Peter Shostak depicts what it means to be Canadian. He honours the memory of all our past lives."

In 2003, Peter Shostak received the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of his outstanding exemplary contribution to Canada.

Most major cities in Canada have repeatedly hosted exhibitions of his work over the past several years and he has completed many commissioned paintings and serigraphs for individuals, organizations and major corporations.

After living in Victoria for thirty-six years he recently moved north on Vancouver Island to Courtenay, BC. He frequently returns to his native Alberta to photograph and refresh his mental images of prairie life and landscape.

For more information, contact Peter Shostak

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Contact the UKRAINIAN CANADIAN PROFESSIONAL & BUSINESS ASSOCIATION OF CALGARY at 403-670-5477 or e-mail:  admin@ucpbacalgary.org     www.ucpbacalgary.ca

Calgary Visit of Ukrainian Male Chorus of Edmonton



at Mukachevo, Ukraine - infoukes.com

A few weeks ago I was speaking with Orest Soltykevych of Edmonton, and he surprised me with the news that the UKRAINIAN MALE CHORUS OF EDMONTON is coming to sing in Calgary this month.  What lovely news! 

I just love the sound of male voices, especially singing together!  The liturgical music of the Ukrainian tradition is so moving.  Prayerful, deep, rich, resonant sounds - the enveloping sounds that make my spirit remember the hopes and dreams of my ancestors.  The sound of Hospodi pomiluj!  touches my heart in a way no other prayer does. 

Orest said that the choir has decided to take the opportunity to promote the Ukrainian choral tradition by touring various centres in Western Canada. 

They are coming to Calgary to sing the responses to the Divine Liturgy, on Sunday, June 24 at St. Vladimir’s Ukrainian Orthodox Congregation at 404 Meredith Road NE.

I sincerely hope you will come and participate in the worship service! 

Remember to mark this date on your calendar - come for the prayer and worship together. 

Ukrainian Dancing in Calgary

Ukrainian Dancing is alive and well in Calgary!  There seem to be so many dance schools!  Well, at the Calgary Ukrainian Festival this June 2012, audiences were entertained by many, diverse, and talented groups of Ukrainian dancers.  I saw little children - seemed like maybe 4 or 5 years old - take the stage for solo dancing!  Imagine having the stage presence, the personal discipline, the ability to handle a crowd, to stay focused!  Wow, these little ones learn a lot about life through Ukrainian dancing.   

 The costumes were widely disparate.Everything from costumes that looked like little wind up dollies, to traditional Hutsul, Transcarpathian, Bukovinian - the clothing was colorful, practical and comfortable.  One girl told me she prefers to wear her Ukrainian clothing at these festivals, especially when it is hot - she can't stand sweating in a t-shirt and jeans.  Plus, she enjoys being recognized, and showing off her ancestral heritage.

 I particularly enjoyed the large montage performance of upwards of 30 children on stage - they had to have some real idea of space, time, and coordination!  How does a little person remember when to go on, when to take their turn, how to respond to an audience - in this case an adoring audience?  Clearly these little dancers, and their dance school teachers are onto something!  I'll bet a lot of learning goes on on all sides!

Perhaps the best performances were the adult groups though.  The fact that so many "grown ups" are still enjoying their traditional Ukrainian dance forms just makes me happy.  Whether it is for fitness, for companionship, for fun, or maybe even because it is an expression of some sense of identity with the whole Ukrainian thing, it is just great!

Congratulations to all the dancers - you had audiences cheering, little people enthralled, and parents and guests amazed by your talent!

The Ancient Slavonic Question - “kamo griadeshi, Ukraino?"

For a lot of Ukrainian Calgarians there has always been a desire to know what the politial situation is in Ukraine after the enthusiasm and expectations of Independence some 20 years ago.  The Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Association of Calgary regularly has guest speakers at their monthly meetings, and this week Oleh Havrylyshyn is speaking.  "Quo Vadis Ucraina? (Kamo Griadeshi, Ukraino?)"  will be discussed this Thursday, May 31, 2012 at the Danish Canadian Club, Valhalla Ballroom    at  727 - 11th Avenue SW  Calgary. 

what positive results has Ukraine achieved economically, politically, historically?
why has it fallen behind other post-communist countries, especially in Central Europe?
what harm has oligarch dominance done, and can Ukraine overcome this ?
what are the key reforms /changes needed to correct its wayward path?
for the future, in answer to the ancient Slavonic question, “kamo griadeshi, Ukraino?" -- is the path towards the EU, a new Russian sphere, or a third unknown scenario?

Dr. Oleh Havrylyshyn has had a long and distinguished academic career as a Professor of Economics in leading universities in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, and has been a consultant to various governments, the World Bank, and other international agencies.

You can contact UCPBA of  Calgary at www.ucpbacalgary.ca

Language Classes

If you haven't planned for the summer yet, St. John’s Institute in Edmonton is pleased to offer Osvita, their Ukrainian language summer immersion program again this year. It's a unique way to make friends and through their accredited program, kids ages 14-17 can get UKR 10, 20 or 30 credits while also enjoying cultural programming and educational excursions.

An on-line application for students and parents is available at www.stjohnsinstitute.com for the convenience of those who are interested.