Prince Albert will host the first-ever Ukrainian Day celebration on Sept. 6 at Little Red River Park.
The celebration will bring together long-standing residents and newcomers to showcase Prince Albert’s Ukrainian roots and cultural traditions.
Charlene Tebbutt the President of the Veselka Ukrainian Cultural and Heritage Club and one of the organizing committee members, said that the club is really looking forward to the day.
“We have a lot of newcomers who are really leading this event and wanting to be involved in something where they can share their cultural traditions and activities, or something they might do at home,” Tebbutt said. “It’s great for us because we want to grow our club. We want to celebrate together. We want to be part of things and welcome our new Canadian Ukrainians to our community and showcase what we have to offer in Prince Albert, so this is a really great opportunity for us both.”
The City of Prince Albert recently declared September as Ukrainian Heritage Month, as has the province of Saskatchewan.
She said the group requested the proclamation and she herself was exited to work on the project in her role as the Vice President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’ Saskatchewan Provincial Council.
“I was happy to work on that and thought it was exciting to request the proclamation because September is the month the first Ukrainian immigrants arrived in Canada in 1891,” Tebbutt said.
“The month of September is really an anniversary. It started that first wave of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, so September is a great opportunity for us to celebrate all the contributions from Ukrainians across Prince Albert across Saskatchewan and Canada.”
Tebbutt said dignitaries who have indicated they will attend include Prince Albert Mayor Bill Powalinsky, Prince Albert Northcote MLA Alana Ross and MLA for the Prince Albert riding Randy Hoback.
Tebbutt said performers who are already booked include the Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble, Prince Albert’s Veselka Choir, and the Barveenok Ukrainian Dancers.
To lead into the evening the Dean Bernier Band will be performing.
“We have some singers who will be attending. Some of them who have come from Ukraine. We have Darcy Blahout, who is a poet. He’s going to be attending and reading some of his poems,” she said.
“We’re hoping for a great crowd. Bring your lawn chairs, bring your blankets and come join us in the park for the day.
The event runs from 1:30 to 8:00 p.m. and is open to the public. Tebbutt advised people to get to the event around 1 p.m. to get set up for entertainment to begin at 1:30 p.m.
The event will feature a “yarmarok” market, a traditional outdoor Ukrainian marketplace, along with artisan vendors, food, live music and dance performances.
In previous years Veselka has marked Ukrainian Independence Day in August and Ukrainian Heritage Month in September. Tebbutt said that these events and the participation of Ukrainian newcomers served as a catalyst for the larger event.
“And when we were talking to them, they wanted to go bigger. They wanted to have something outside. They wanted to be in nature. And so it just kind of blossomed from there. So this is first time we’ve had this is the first Ukrainian day in PA,” Tebbutt said.
She said even though the first event is yet to occur they are excited for next year.
“We really want to impress on Sept. 6 and we want to have a great time and we hope that we have a really large crowd and it’s something that we are really having a lot of fun coordinating,” Tebbutt said.
The event will be held at Little Red River Park. Organizers were inspired by other festivals hosted at the park and felt it was the ideal setting to reflect both Ukrainian tradition and the natural beauty of the region. She thanked sponsors like the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, City of Prince Albert, SIGA and Sask Culture among others.
” We have some business sponsors who are going to be out there for the day and a water sponsor,” Tebbutt said,
There will also be a cultural tent with the Ukrainian Museum of Canada. This will include some embroidery workshops.
“We have some newcomers from Ukraine who will be in the cultural tent as well with some crafts and activities making Ukrainian dolls and there will be some games and activities for families. We will have a fashion show on the stage as well, so. We have a lot of different things happening, so lots of entertainment, lots of music, lots of dancing and hopefully something for everyone,” Tebbutt said.
Tebbutt explained that the event will be a way to bring the community together while celebrating Ukrainian culture.
“It’s a great chance to learn about other cultures and just kind of celebrate and enjoy the day together as a community,”
Organizers hope this year’s Ukrainian Day will become an annual tradition.
