Festival in Support of Ukraine Brought the Community Together in Jersey City

The sixth annual Ukrainian Fall Festival was held in The Heights neighborhood of Jersey City. What began a few years ago as a modest picnic has now grown into a large-scale cultural event. The festival gathered the community not only to celebrate culture and traditions, but also to support Ukraine.

This was reported by the Ukrainian National Home of Jersey City and Jordan Coll’s Substack

The festival aimed to introduce visitors to Ukrainian customs, cuisine, and art.

“We are trying to unite members of the community so that children grow up with an understanding of the Ukrainian language, history, as well as our customs and traditions – which are truly beautiful,” said Mary Furey, head of the Ukrainian National Home.

The program featured performances by the dance ensembles Kalina (Perth Amboy), Vodogray (Trenton), and students of Nadiya Dance School led by Nadiya Lemega. Guests also heard the national anthems of Ukraine and the U.S. performed by Anna Taran, along with the symbolic song by Pavlo Tabakov to Taras Shevchenko’s words “Boritesya – poborete” (“Fight – and you will overcome”).

Festivalgoers enjoyed traditional Ukrainian dishes, honey products from Igor’s Bees, and souvenirs. The festive atmosphere was highlighted by the mural “Ukrainian National Home Jersey City”, created by local artist DISTORT.

Participants also noted the support of the Jersey City Police Department, which joined the event and posed for photos with Ukrainian servicemen.

“We sincerely thank the Ukrainian National Home of Jersey City for organizing such a wonderful festival that brought our community together to celebrate culture, traditions, and support for our heroes. We were honored to have former Governor Jim McGreevey spend time with our defenders. His words of support and recognition meant so much to them. Special thanks to Roman Marchuk for his incredible gift – a hand-carved Tryzub, which was sold at auction for the benefit of our defenders,” reads a post by Our Foundation – Our Organizing Ukraine Relief Foundation.

A charity auction was also held at the festival, where the hand-carved Tryzub donated by Roman Marchuk was sold. All proceeds were directed to support Ukrainian defenders.