Los Angeles center hosts Pysanka Festival

LOS ANGELES - The Ukrainian Art Center Inc. announced its final Pysanka Festival and Easter Open House on Sunday, April 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Highlighted on this day will be Ukrainian pysanky, traditional Ukrainian Easter Eggs world-famous for their color, intricacy of design and workmanship. Many folk-art artists will be displaying and offering for sale their pysanky; Ukrainian ritual Easter breads, ceramics, embroideries and many more personal creations will be available at individual tables. There will also be a hands-on table for children to make Easter crafts.

A special characteristic of the festival is an exhibit of traditional Ukrainian Easter baskets prepared by the local churches, school and youth organizations. These baskets are filled and decorated with rich embroidered ritual cloths, colorful pysanky and many ritual foods.

Paintings and etchings by Ukrainian artists from near and far, folk crafts, one-of-a-kind gifts, beaded jewelry, books, cards, music and apparel are on sale at the Ukrainian Art Gallery Store.

An exclusive attraction of this year's festival is the Desna Ukrainian Dance Company of Toronto, a professional dance company performing a unique repertoire of folk, classical and character dance from various regions of Ukraine.

There will also be a special guest appearance by virtuoso Vasyl Popadiuk. At the tender age of 6, he made his first appearance on a professional stage with a fiddle. By his 20s, Mr. Popadiuk had received many standing ovations from music lovers in Germany, Jordan, Canada, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Holland and the United States, while touring with the Moscow National Theatre of Folk Music, Ukrainian Hopak Dance Company and the Ukrainian Romance Gypsy Theatre. Today, he has made Toronto his home and performs regularly with Desna Ukrainian Dance Company.

The Ukrainian Art Center will also present the first North American exhibit of Ukrainian artist Mykhailo Khymych, who takes the ancient art form of icons and contemporizes it.

The Ukrainian Art Center is located at 4315 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90029.

Admission: $5 (includes one door prize ticket), children 5 and under, free. For more information contact Daria Chaikovsky, (323) 668-0172.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 1, 2001, No. 13, Vol. LXIX

| Home Page |