- Credibility:
UKRAINIAN VILLAGE — Ukrainian Village Fest returns this weekend, with all proceeds from the event benefitting soldiers and victims of the war in Ukraine.
This year’s festival is 5-10 p.m. Saturday and 2:30-9 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot behind Saints Volodymyr and Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church, 2200 W. Superior St., in the heart of Ukrainian Village.
Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children, with proceeds benefitting Help Heroes of Ukraine, a local nonprofit that is providing aid and supplies to Ukrainian soldiers and people in Ukraine.
Started in 2002, the festival showcases performances by Ukrainian dance groups and musicians as well as food and beer from local vendors.
“Our focus has been to have a festival, but also raise money for Ukraine, for our defenses, for the war effort,” said Roxana Pylypczak, one the festival’s organizers. “People might be a little bit saturated with giving and giving. And so we decided to make our festival a [fundraiser] so that we can raise more money, because the war isn’t over.”
Ukrainian Village Fest will feature performances from the Hromovytsia Ukrainian Dance Ensemble of Chicago and local Ukrainian singers and musicians.
Organizers have also expanded the fest to include non-Ukrainian cultural groups based in Chicago.
Those include a troupe of Irish dancers, a Slovenian choir and a Spanish dance ensemble.
Pylypczak said organizers hope to honor the support given to the Ukrainian community since Russia invaded in February.
“The whole event is basically trying to show the world that many nationalities are still helping us, even if it seems … no one’s talking about the war. But we’re still in this war, and it’s recognized by many nationalities who are helping us highlight the need to keep helping,” Pylypczak said.
Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club ChicagoBefore the festival begins Saturday, Ukrainian Village community leaders will hold a ribbon-cutting a few blocks away for a mural honoring the freedom of the Ukrainian people.
“The mural depicts the image of a Ukrainian woman symbolizing the beauty and strength of Ukraine and its people, particularly poignant at this time of Russia’s violent unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” according to a news release.
The unveiling is 3:30 p.m. Saturday at the corner of Oakley Boulevard and Chicago Avenue.
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