Veselka and the Ukrainian Canadian Congress of Saskatchewan (UCC Saskatchewan) celebrated the first Ukrainian Heritage Day on Saturday at St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Parish Hall.
The main event of the day along with cultural performances and fellowship was a history of Ukrainian immigration to Canada by Veselka member and City Councillor Dennis Ogrodnick.
Ogrodnick said the presentation did not take long to put together.
“I continue to read and learn about the history of Ukraine as well as a lot of this is from History 30, what I taught in high school,” he explained.
“I have (talked) about the different waves of newcomers. As a teacher, you also include newcomers from other countries not just Ukrainians, but just today decided to focus on them.”
History is a passion for Ogrodnick. He taught it for 36 years, so giving a presentation on Ukrainian Heritage Day was welcome experience.
His presentation covered subjects as diverse as different Ukrainian churches, to the impact of Holodomor and the internment.
He also discussed the six waves of Ukrainian immigration to Canada up to the present day.
The commemoration event in Prince Albert was to recognize the date the first Ukrainian settlers arrived in Canada. Veselka president Charlene Tebbutt emceed the event, and also gave a history of Veselka and the clay oven at the Prince Albert Exhibition.
Mayor Greg Dionne spoke on behalf of the City, and Prince Albert Northcote MLA Alana Ross brought greetings on behalf of the province.
The day included performances by the Veselka Choir and Prince Albert Barveenok Ukrainian Dancers, who were represented by dancers Linus Skomoroski, Jude Skomoroski, Jacob Winder and Brookyln Winder.
The event opened with the singing of the Ukrainian and Canadian National Anthems and a prayer by St. George’s Father Harry Salahub.
Longtime Veselka members Vickie La Rose and Ben Hladun welcomed attendees with a traditional greeting of bread and salt. Traditional foods included kolach, or braided bread, prepared by Thelma Radchuk, honey cookies baked by Olga Karasiuk, and Ukrainian korzhyky prepared by a newcomer.
The Province of Saskatchewan and the City of Prince Albert have declared Sept. 7 as Ukrainian Heritage Day, which Ogrodnick said he appreciated.
Ogrodnick said that having a mix of newcomers and longtime Prince Albert residents made for a good celebration.
“(There were) a lot of newcomers were here today and to listen to them and learn from them as well was nice,” he said.
Ogrodnick even had a translation by Olena Shpylchak.
“I think it will become an annual event to celebrate on September 7. It celebrates the very first two Ukrainians that came to Canada,” he said.
Ogrodnick said that the event falling two weeks after Ukrainian Independence Day tied really well into the fact that most of the first settlers were farmers and late summer and early fall is harvest.
According to the UCC, the first Ukrainian settlers to Canada, Ivan Pylypiw and Vasyl Eleniak, arrived on Sept. 7, 1891. Both men were 33 years of age, and were the first of thousands to settle in Canada as part of the first wave of Ukrainian immigration.
Between 1891 and 1914, approximately 150,000 Ukrainians arrived in Canada, with the majority settling in the prairie regions of Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Today, more than 1.3 million Canadians identify as being of Ukrainian descent with more than 250,000 newcomers from Ukraine arriving since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022 as part of emergency support measures through the federal government.
Also in attendance was Sonya Jahn who has helped Ukrainian newcomers settle in Prince Albert and she was applauded for her efforts by the crowd.
michael.oleksyn@paherald.sk.ca
