Friends and family gather again during Labor Day weekend at Soyuzivka (09/17/00)

Friends and family gather again during Labor Day weekend at Soyuzivka

by Irene Jarosewich

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when Labor Day weekend at Soyuzivka became a bedrock tradition for Ukrainians here, but it's been at least a generation. Adults who came as children are now bringing their own. And even those who never attended a Suzy-Q Labor Day know about the boisterous weekend that is a poignant reminder of the end of summer's warmth and more casual pace. Although close to 5,000 people came through the gates of Soyuzivka between Friday and Monday of this Labor Day weekend, the atmosphere remained low-key and intimate throughout the holiday.

Roman Kyzyk of New York City remembers first coming to Soyuzivka as a child in the 1950s, when his father attended the first "zyizd likariv" (doctor's convention) in 1956. His family has been coming every year since. Now that the extended family includes a couple of dozen members living in several states, the Kyzyk clan comes to Soyuzivka on Labor Day not only for the festivities, but as a way for the now-large family to gather informally. And besides being with family, Roman's wife, Mira, who also began coming to the resort as a child, loves Soyuzivka for its natural beauty.

From Chicago, Oksana (Zarytsky) Holian comes to Soyuzivka to get together with old friends to reminisce about "the times when we were young here and life was more simple," and attorney Myroslav Smorodsky of New Jersey, whose two daughters both married in recent years, now sees the weekend not only as an opportunity to see old friends, but to better get to know his new in-laws and their friends and families. Bohdan Kramarchuk, also from New Jersey, starting coming to Soyuzivka with his sons when they were young "because they went their way, I went mine, I knew they were safe here and we all had a good time." The Kramarchuks continue to come for visits with friends and for the congenial atmosphere. And Orest and Lida Bilous came to Soyuzivka for the entire week before Labor Day to relax with a group of their longtime friends.

But the hallmark of the Suzy-Q Labor Day, for all the talk of old friends and old times, is that the weekend belongs to the young. College students come to hang with their not-so-old friends before all head off to start fall semesters in different states. Those with athletic skill and talent can compete in Soyuzivka's annual tennis and swim competitions [the results of which will be published next week], or a play a pick-up game of beach volleyball.

Stefan Stawnychy claims he came to Soyuzivka because "I was hijacked from school this morning by my mother and told that I was coming here to broaden my Ukrainian horizons," which, besides the sports activities and cultural program, no doubt means meeting some nice Ukrainian girls, and Danylo Bazarko of Manhattan credits Soyuzivka as the place where he met his fiancée. And in a bit of role reversal, at the "zabava" on Saturday night, while parents dressed casually, in polo shirts and summer silk blouses, their kids were, well ... decked out. Designers suits and spaghetti strap sheaths, great haircuts and great tans.

It's easy for 5,000 people to spread out over four days among Soyuzivka's 450 acres. The resort offers woods to walk through, a pool to swim in, tennis and volleyball courts to play on. The Trembita Lounge was packed. The main building housed art exhibits by Andrii Pikush, Vitaliy Lytvyn and Taras Bilchuk, and prior to the "zabavy," cultural programs were offered both Saturday and Sunday evenings. Guests could stroll the paths that wind through the resort, hang out on the patio, or sit with friends on the verandah of one of the more than a dozen lodges and buildings on the resort. The weather was merciful throughout the weekend - with threatening rain and sounds of distant thunder - but storms were held at bay.

Besides the "zabavy" - which lasted until the early morning hours all three nights as people danced to Luna on Friday evening, (while the band Zone played in the Trembita Lounge), Tempo and Zolota Bulava on Saturday night and Zolota Bulava on Sunday - the weekend evening events also included cultural programs.

On Saturday evening guests listened to the gentle melodies of the bandura-duo Lisova Pisnia composed of Alla Kutsevych and Liudmyla Hrabovska, as well as to the sweet voices of the award-winning Chereshenky, two young sisters, Lidiya and Gabriella Oros, who first started performing in their native Zakarpattia. Also performing that evening was the dance ensemble Syzokryli. It's a pleasure to watch these young dancers - their commitment, their talent shines throughout their performance, and they look as though they are genuinely enjoying themselves. What also shines through is the commitment and talent of their director. For the past several decades Roma Pryma-Bohachevsky has trained hundreds of young performers. Her attention to the detail of the marvelous costumes for the dancers, her insistence on precise execution of her choreography, the attention to the discipline of dance training comes through year after year.

Amidst the generally casual atmosphere of the weekend, there was a moment of triumph for the classical and more formal as opera-lovers listened on Sunday evening to a first-rate performance by Oksana Krovytsa, soprano with the New York City Opera, who was accompanied by the talented pianist Thomas Hrynkiw. Praised often by music critics in New York for her performances, in particular in the title role of Cio-Cio-San in "Madama Butterfly," Ms. Krovysta treated guests to a program that included her signature aria from that opera. Though other sopranos may have greater range, Ms. Krovytska's soprano is rich - full and powerful. She mesmerized her audience as they listened to her strong and masterfully skilled voice fill the hall.

The new millennium's first Labor Day weekend at Soyuzivka came to a quiet close on Monday soon after the prizes were awarded to the the winners of the tennis championship. Devotees of Suzy-Q Labor Day, saying good-byes, made promises to return next year, remaining firm in their affection for this end-of-summer ritual and for this mountain-top resort.

Peter Steciuk contributed to this article.

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