Eyes on Chersonesos - UNESCO World Heritage Site

the eyes of the Theotokos from the ancent temple at Chersonesos,
possibly the eyes that saw King and Sovereign Volodymyr of Rus',
now in Chersonesos Museum
amk 2013

The Ancient city of Chersonesos, located near the Crimean port city of Sevastopol on Ukraine's Black Sea coast has been declared a UNCESCO World Heritage Site!  This very important place in world history marks the seventh to fifth centuries BC ancient meeting of Greeks and indigenous peoples, and how their relationship led to Chersonesos becoming the birthplace of democracy in this part of the world.  Few places on earth have had such a long and vital history!

temple/basilica
Chersonesos
amk2013

This summer's Black Sea Cruise vacation (2013) included a very important stop in Chersonesus. Landing at the Crimean (Greek for peninsula) port city of Sevastopol was intriguing, but then the absolutely unexpected splendor of the archeological ruins protected at the National Preserve of Tauric Chersonesos site was overwhelming. Thankfully for admirers of history's wisdom, the President of Ukraine in 1993 declared the site a Preserve, given the status of a national institution of culture. Since that time, important scholarly teams involving archeologists, historians and specialists of related fields have worked to establish an archeological park, enlisting non-profit and non-governmental organizations abroad. The significance of this site has met an appreciative international audience.

Chersonesos city, amk2013

lmk2013

Ancient indigenous cultures and warring tribes including the impressive Taurians, Cimmerians, and Scythians lived in this highly desired locations. Greek colonists from Miletus in the 7th to 5th centuries BC established an independent, self-governed city state which variously enslaved, employed and eventually included these peoples as participants in the popular assembly of free peoples who would decide on law, wars, peace and governance together.  For two thousand years Chersonesos was the major political, economic and cultural centre of this northern Black Sea region, enduring political and economic upsurges and threats including fascinating times of Roman and Byzantine Empire influence.  Ancient and modern time looting, and construction related sprawl of modern city-growth, including illegal agricultural activity are a threat to the site.  In June 2013 UNESCO finally included the Chersonesos site on the list of World Heritage Sites because of its outstanding universal value. With this international focus, the Ukrainian authorities are committed toward strengthened heritage management and preservation.  The first foreign teams to be given access to conduct research at this site (1990's) from The Institute of Classical Archeology at the University of Texas contributed to this sea change with their amazing academic journey through the excavations and finds in Chersonesos.

The Texas led research team spokespeople indicate the project includes an offer to the Government of Ukraine of a long term project, to set up a world class archeological park on the territory of Chersonesos. A number of US private non-profit foundations and other generous supporters have already contributed to the archeological excavations, but issues such as coastal erosion and the important infrastructure for international tourism require priority attention and financial support. And Ukraine's Minister of Culture will urgently need to protect the Ukrainian state owned property from attempts by the Russian Orthodox Church to seize and appropriate the site.

Incidentally, the one hryvnia banknote has an image of Chersonesos on the reverse side!

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/chersonesos-receives-its-due/
http://archive.archaeology.org/0211/abstracts/slavic.html

http://www.utexas.edu/news/2013/09/19/unesco-world-heritage-site/

ZABAVA on Whyte Avenue (Edmonton)

For three days of epic arts and culture, the only feature celebration site in Edmonton during the 2013 Alberta Culture Days will happening at St. John's Institute on Whyte Avenue (near the University of Alberta). All events are free, all fun, and full of cultural richness - all you need to do is arrive in a Ukrainian blouse or shirt! Come out to support the community's Ukrainian artists, performing and visual. Industrious volunteers could help with the pyrogy pinching party, or help out in other ways.

Just make sure to be there for the Saturday night zabava right on Whyte Avenue - the street will closed! And Trembita Ukrainian Band wants you there for the fun!

Ukie Summer School 2014!

Polovetsian warrior, Kyivan Rus' era,
Feodosia Museum, Ukraine
amk2013

Looking for a hero?  Looking for opportunities to dream, rise to a new plateau of understanding, and aspire to the heights of human experience?  LOOK NO FURTHER!

The creative legacy of  OSVITA, the exceptional summer Ukrainian language and cultural immersion program may be for you! http://www.stjohnsinstitute.com/about-us/programs/osvita/

OSVITA, the exceptional Ukrainian summer school program designed for deep, enriching experiences in inter-cultural understanding, is a superlative way to engage with learning. Immersion activities embedded in the rhythms of folk life, the language, culture, cuisine are but a glimpse into the collective memory, the ancestral ways. And the trajectory of Ukrainian life with its European and global presence is changing by the minute.   With at least 1.3 million Canadians of Ukrainian ancestry, and at least 20 million in the Ukrainian diaspora, and on every continent, each holds the heroes of their ancestry dear. Real people aspiring to overcome challenges in their personal lives, we all marvel at the wisdom and resilience of the ancestral stories.  Change and adaptation are everywhere, but it is clear that promoting pluri-lingualism from within our Ukrainian community is a fabulous way to shape the world, to contribute to world peace.

Innovation and optimism are the by-words for the OSVITA program which has been connecting people and communities for decades.  Building kindred relationships from Buenos Aires, Brazil, Berlin, London, Istanbul, and Chicago, and of course places like Myrnam, Alberta - OSVITA makes Ukrainian relevant in an international way.  Self-aware, optimistic, forward thinking, and incredibly able to enrich young lives with deep and comprehensive ties with the land of their ancestry, OSVITA should be on your young person's summer plan!

Check it out here at http://www.osvitaprogram.com/
ps-my daughter went twice and still talks about her amazing experiences at OSVITA!

Share the Story

Can you believe it is 80 years since the Holodomor?

Since the epic "death by starvation" of Stalinist days in Ukraine during the 1930's spent such a long time in "enforced silence", there is so much ignorance on this truly historic tragedy in the world. The time to Share the Story is long upon us!

In the 1930's, Joseph Stalin was the dominant force in the Soviet Union's aggressive plan to reshape Soviet society. A massive bureaucracy enforced comprehensive collectivization, an economic strategy which was to bring all agriculture under state control. Nearly unlimited power was granted to this bureaucracy as they expropriated property, eliminated households, frequently using secret police, prisons, political repression, arrests, deportations and executions to affect their goals. The policies led to mass starvation and the death of at least 7-10 million people. The hugely important facts around such intentional human cruelty must receive public attention! Unfortunately history tends to repeat itself unless we truly demand a higher standard of conduct among ourselves, our communities, our nations, and in international relationships! Knowledge is indeed power!

The stories of Holodomor survivors are being featured on a web site at www.sharethestory.ca, One story is being posted daily for 80 days leading up to the International Holodomor Memorial Day on November 23, 2013. The Kyiv-based newspaper Kyiv Post has also joined the promotion effort, and you can visit their site at www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/. Another media sponsor posting the testimonies on their site is RFE/RL (Radio Svoboda) at www.radiosvoboda.org/section/holodomor/535.html.

A project sponsored by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress http://www.ucc.ca/  and the Ukrainian World Congress.

Media Contact: Irene Mycak

Ukrainian World Congress    145 Evans Ave., Suite 207   Toronto, ON   M8Z 5X8    Canada
Tel. (416) 323-3020   Fax (416) 323-3250   e-mail: congress@look.ca   website: www.ukrainianworldcongress.org

Can You Ukrainian Tango? Oh Yea!

Hello Ukrainian Tango fans! Wonderful news for you! A new album is in the works! Calgary's own Stephania Romaniuk, lovely vocal performer and some of Calgary's best classical and jazz instrumentalists are up to their castanets in Ukrainian tango!

Way back n the early 30's, Western Ukraine's capital Lviv was the home of talented Bohdan Wesolowsky. A musical colleague of Anatoly Kos-Anatolsky at the Lviv Conservatory, Wesolowsky's piano, vocals and accordion contributed Latin sounds, tango, and Austrian influenced waltz to Leonid Yablonsky's jazz orchestra sound. Light and frothy fare, this new genre was indeed a hit with young people! Wesolowsky soon thirsted for more and moved to study composition and economics in Vienna! Emigrating to Montreal after the war, Wesolowsky became the first radio announcer-producer for the Ukrainian division of Radio-Canada International until his death in 1971.

Interestingly, Ukrainian tango, foxtrot and light waltz were Wesolowsky's forte! Passionate love songs, fused to Latin rhythms and Viennese class, tantalizing, enticing, full of yearning, these were the exciting new sounds in small intimate settings, night clubs and cabarets, perhaps the Ukrainian version of a "speak easy". Of course it was also a time for live radio, early recordings, which made Wesolowsky's music accessible everywhere.

Love songs, sultry, weighty and nostalgic, embittered, empty and unattached, or playful and upbeat, these songs have a light hearted edge, a "don't take yourself so seriously" attitude. Wesolowsky was really about early Ukrainian estradna music - the popular style of Ukrainian jazz bands and orchestras everywhere.

Vocal performer, Stephania Romaniuk is itching to release this great new, fun recording of sultry Ukrainian love songs! So it is your special opportunity to help her along! Check her Kickstarter campaign and contribute generously!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1686146502/by-gone-days-ukrainian-jazz

Soon you and your honey will be slow dancing, Ukrainian tango style into a romantic evening by the....wait....romance cannot wait! Do it now!