Ukrainian Festival celebrates St. George Parish's centennial

NEW YORK - Some 10,000 to 15,000 people, according to police estimates, made their way to East Seventh Street, between Second and Third Avenues here on Friday through Sunday, May 13-15, for the 29th annual Ukrainian Festival sponsored by St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church.

This year's festival, which brought together the usual array of performers - dancers, singers and musicians - was dedicated to the centennial of St. George Parish, whose church is located at the corner of Seventh Street and Taras Shevchenko Place.

The program on Saturday afternoon (seen in the photos on this page) showcased the talents of young Ukrainian folk dancers from the tri-state New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area. Also performing that day was singer Olya Fryz, assisted by two young dancers; and the New York Svitlychka (pre-school).

Stage shows were held also on Friday and Saturday evenings, as well as Sunday afternoon. Throughout the course of the weekend, vendors and organizations sold craft items, artworks and, of course, food; various organizations also showed displays highlighting their activities.

The festival was officially opened on Friday evening with remarks by the Very Rev. Bernard Panczuk, OSBM. Masters of ceremonies were Ulyana Kekish-Solodenko and Zenon Czornij.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, June 5, 2005, No. 23, Vol. LXXIII

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