Malanka In Lethbridge 2015

The Christmas season gives such opportunity to catch up with friends from all over the world! In the deep, dark coldness of winter people just have to get out and party! Thank heavens for the winter traditions of Ukrainians, which encourage Malanka New Years Festivals each weekend through out January.

Lethbridge Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Club is hosting their 20th Anniversary Malanka on Saturday, January 24, 2015. Calgary's favorite dance band Absolute is playing for the ZABAVA!  Reserve your tickets today!!

Had Fun At Malanka

Malanka has a great sentimental value for me.  Met my husband at a Malanka.  And the tradition continues, it seems, in the ways of ancient times.  Put young people together and instantly there is fun, energy, and a renewal of promise.  The New Year,  Ukrainian style!

Calgary's Plast Malanka last night was a great, fun evening.  It probably helped that the weather is chinooking, so nobody had to wear long-johns!  Evening wear and sparkle, a comfortable and attractive venue, great food and amazing entertainment - the evening had it all.

First, the young adults of Plast led the crowd into the hall with koliady коляди
(Traditional Ukrainian Christmas Carols)!  MC Zennia Martynkiw invited Sister Laura to lead the singing of Boh Predvichney Бог Предвічний followed by a Blessing.  The Petroleum Club chef's best Chicken Kyiv, supplemented with traditional Ukrainian foods including varennyky вареники  (pyrohy) and holubtsi голубці  (cabbage rolls) was delivered with excellent service.  Then Ukrainian violinist Vasyl Popadiuk - Papa Duke dazzled the crowd with a fabulous virtuoso program that hinted at ancestry, yet featured a deep soulful intertwining of international cultures - in a way only musicians can.  Brilliant ballerina Tania Chumak (of Calgary Plast) performed a piece in honor of the dignity movement in Ukraine, to the musically generous new composition sung and played by Stephania Romaniuk.  Then Vohon Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Edmonton brought three separate and interesting Ukrainian dances to the stage, wholeheartedly filling the room with smiles. And if that wasn't enough, the energy kept coming with The Real Deal's mix of R&B, funk, and rock and roll. The dance floor was still hopping when Calgary's Zhyto Band began
the kolomeika which had some fun and humorous offerings, too!  At midnight everyone at Malanka encircled the hall to sing De Zhoda v Rodyni, Where there is Peace in the Family!  Such a great feeling of community as everyone reached out to hug another person, instantly bonding community!  Zhyto kept the hall bouncing with great Ukrainian music until the wee hours - but sadly everything comes to an end.  Friendships and perhaps more might burble into the wee hours, and I'll bet social media sites will continue to buzz about Malanka 2014.

Popadiuk took a plane home to Toronto, brave Vohon dancers drove the three hours back home to Edmonton through the night, and guests disappeared in the night, some planning flights home to places like Winnipeg, Vancouver, Regina while the Plast organizers took account of the silent auction and the rave reviews.  What a great night!

ps sorry the pics are lousy, using a smart phone from a distance - gotta solve that!

Kerby Centre Malanka 2014

Malanka
http://www.artbylarisa.com/

Sending the old year packing, and embracing the changes coming in the new year, Calgary's Kerby Centre is inviting seniors to MALANKA 2014!

MALANKA is the Ukrainian folk holiday celebrated in accordance with the Julian calendar, to welcome the new year.  Across North America, some MALANKA events focus on the traditional ancestral ways of Ukrainians, imbued with rich wisdom, filled with symbols, and images.  Tenaciously and precariously pitched between the old and new times, the Ukrainian New Year MALANKA is conceptually a treasure chest full of folk strategies for life enhancement, so good may ultimately conquer evil, paving the way for peace, good health and prosperity in the new times ahead.  Cold winter nights may be ripe for pondering, but Malanka isn't just an excuse to party, it is part of the ancestral lifestyle to create community together!  Of course, a modern-day Malanka function tends to embrace the social fashions of the day, frequently a New Year's banquet and dance with lovely entertainment of a cultural flair.   

The Kerby Centre's very enthusiastically received Ukrainian New Year's MALANKA 2013 celebration, has encouraged the leadership there to do it again! This year's KERBY CENTRE MALANKA 2014 is being held on January 21, 2014 - it's time to get your tickets!

KERBY CENTRE MALANKA 2014 will again showcase Ukrainian food (pyrohy, holubtsi, kovbasa and a sweet), dancing and music with the talented dedicated people from Suzirya Ukrainian Dance Theatre and Korinnya Ukrainian Folk Ensemble as ambassadors of Ukraine's great cultural traditions. The Ukrainian Museum of Canada, Calgary Branch (located at 404 Meredith Road NE Calgary) will provide cultural artifacts to enhance the traditional ambiance required of this important MALANKA event!

Located in the heart of Calgary, the Kerby Centre is an agency committed to enhancing the lives of seniors through education and recreation. MALANKA 2014 at the KERBY CENTRE is very soon, so it is important for families to pre-register their requests early to reserve a spot. Call 403-705-3233. For more information call 403.265.0661 or visit 1133-7th Ave. S.W.,  Calgary, Alberta. 

YALYNKA MALANKA in Strathmore 2013

Just east of Calgary is a lovely community called Strathmore, where it turns out there is an active Ukrainian community who are again hosting their annual YALYNKA MALANKA!  Ялинки-Маланка! They certainly have a great band, one of Alberta's best Dance Bands - absolutedanceband.com.  And I can personally attest to some of their strongest culinary traditions in Strathmore - delicious! 

For a late season MALANKA on February 2, 2013 - make sure to book tickets to the YALYNKA MALANKA in Strathmore, Alberta.