May 2, 2015

Discover your heritage at Soyuzivka camp

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Sandy Lemekha

Participants of the 2014 Discover Your Heritage Camp at Soyuzivka.

KERHONKSON, N.Y. – In the summer of 2014 Soyuzivka began to offer Discover Your Heritage Camp for children age 8-15. This has been the format for the Heritage Day Camp for over a decade. Last year the theme was about current events in Ukraine. The campers made their own hard hats in honor of “the people of the Maidan.”

They children also learned about the various styles of woodcarvings, while making their own “toporets”; decorated pysanky using traditional symbols; and worked with beads to make a gerdan. The creative arts portion of the camp program takes place during the morning hours, leaving the afternoon for the campers to take advantage of all that Soyuzivka has to offer: swimming, volleyball, hiking, ziplining, ‘The Great Ukrainian Race,” campfires and much more.

This summer, the program continues with the theme being pre-Christian Ukraine. The campers will make their own bowl and decorate it in the Trypillian style. Pysanky will be made using all-natural dyes and leaf wrapping. Campers will also make “motanky” dolls and “oberehy” (a type of talisman), while learning about the symbolism of each item and what roles they play in Ukrainian traditions.

The afternoons continue to be filled with sports, hiking and other fun activities designed to enrich each child’s camping experience.

By combining folk art and sports, there is something for each and every child to enjoy at Soyuzivka’s Discover Your Heritage Camp.

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