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Pysanka Festival Coverage
Entertainment and Education Woven throughout Vegreville Pysanka Festival 50th Anniversary
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
The Broken Banjos kicked off Vegreville Pysanka Festival 50th Anniversary on July 6 where they took their Traveling Concert on the road to perform at the senior citizens facilities and at the Vegreville Elks/Kinsmen Park.
Vegreville Pysanka Festival 50th Anniversary event continued on July 7, 8, and 9 with performances by many Ukrainian musicians and dancers.
But this year, the wonder and excitement of the immersion of new cultural dancers happened when the Celtic Ceildh performed some traditional Irish and Highland dances at the Cultural and Band Showcase at the Vegreville Multiplex Centre on July 8.
Dawn Moss and Danielle Ganz are the Directors for Celtic Ceildh where Moss said these dances are from Ireland and Scotland. “Celtic dancing is a high energy dance. A lot of the time the dancers wear tartans. They jump with their legs out in the open. They wear Irish soft and hard shoes and their shoes are made out of fiberglass.”
Another new dance group were the Bavarian Schuhplattlers. President of Bavarian Schuhplattlers of Edmonton Caitlin Keillor said they are a non-profit organization. “We preserve and share the tradition of Bavarian and Austrian folk dance, music, and costumes.
My favorite part of performing is being with the members of our group as we are really good friends. The second thing I like best is getting to go to all the festivals.
This type of dancing is different than Ukrainian dancing as the men slap their legs and feet while they are dancing and they keep a really cool rhythm.”
Canada’s National Riding and Dancing Cossacks and Co. had their Re-enactment Cossack Camp on Vegreville Agricultural Grounds. This group is also celebrating their 50th Anniversary this year.
Camp Boss John Orisko explained that they were trying to show people what it was like living in the 16th and 17th Century in Ukraine where all their members have some type of Ukrainian heritage. “The Cossacks led a military lifestyle and earned their livelihood through war and crafts. I play the role of a hetman who was the elected leader of the group.”
The festival also featured the Yarmarok Marketplace, Farmers’ Market, Folk Arts Display and Demonstration, Pioneer Village,
Ukrainian Dance Competitions, Grandstand Shows, Thistle Hill Farm Petting Zoo, Evening Zabava, Beer Gardens and Pysanka Games.
Life-affirming Performances Mark Vegreville Pysanka Festival 50th Anniversary Grandstand Shows
Rosanne Fortier - News Correspondent
The Ukrainian culture is so vibrant and multicolour. This is especially noticeable during Ukrainian dancing and singing performances. Hence, Vegreville Pysanka Festival showcased all this at their four 50th Anniversary Grandstand Shows on July 7, 8, and 9. July 7 show was emceed by Steven Chwok, MC Mike Cion led the July 8 show, and July 9 had Andrly Hladyshevsky take the stage as MC where each of these announcers engaged the audience with their enthusiastic personalities.
During the July 7 show, Steven Chwok acknowledged the many people who helped to make the grandstand shows happen over the years. Chwok also called Tim Baydala up to the stage while he stated how grateful they were to Tim for being the Grandstand Chair.
The musicians and Ukrainian dancers who entered the stage amazed the audience with their precise choreography, powerful kicks, speed, complex acrobatic movements, as well as, in other performances, their graceful actions and heartwarming instrumental and vocal music pieces.
The performers were Cheremosh, Vohon, Verona, Trembita, Viter Ensemble, Viter Choir, Dnipro, Nadiya Pashkovska, Veryovka, Veselka, Euphoria, Unity Pryvit, Verkhovyna, Shumka, Nadiya Pashkovska, Millenia, Volya, Ukrainian Male Chorus, Viter Ensemble, and Zirka.
Most noteworthy was the performance at the end of each show where all five Ukrainian dance groups performed a Joint Hopak which has never been done before and at the end of July 9 grandstand show, all five mass choirs performed together too.
