In a world where time passes faster than a morning cup of coffee can cool, sometimes all we need is to pause. To sit down. To take a breath. To feel that we belong to something real.
This is exactly what “Lviv Coffee” has offered for the seventh time – literary and artistic gatherings of Ukrainians in America, where spoken word fills the room, music is born, and the memory of home comes alive.
This project is gentle in its form yet powerful in its meaning. Created by the volunteers of the Ukrainian Wave Foundation, it intertwines the beauty of art with support for those defending Ukraine. Here, every guest’s smile, every poetic line, and every song turn into real assistance for the army. During the full-scale invasion, the meetings were paused for some time, and only this autumn was the project revived with renewed energy.
This year’s special guest was Anatoliy Matviychuk – a singer, composer, and journalist. From the first notes, his voice guided the audience into that quiet, slightly hazy, yet deeply familiar land of memories where love and pain, hope and faith all meet.
“Klenova Balada,” “Druzi Moi,” “Znimi, Fotograf, Nas,” and other songs were performed. The three-hour evening passed like a single breath: poetry flowed into song, prose blossomed into humor, and the silence between the lines revealed something personal to each listener – a memory, something unspoken, a path back to oneself.
Even death, as the performer joked, sometimes “acts professionally foolish,” giving a person another chance to rediscover life.
Auctions and raffles have become a traditional part of “Lviv Coffee” – a reminder that art can save. All funds raised are directed to support Ukrainian soldiers. This time, the auction included a flag from the 32nd Brigade signed by its fighters and a banner signed by Valeriy Zaluzhny – items that long ago stopped being simply objects and became symbols of a shared struggle.
The atmosphere was made even more special by coffee and sweets brought from Lviv. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee is incomparable: it carries you across the ocean, straight into the city your heart remembers. For some, it is a reminder of student years; for others – of home, of first love, or of the morning sun over the High Castle.
And as long as such evenings, such music, and such hearts exist, we will remember, support, and overcome. Because even in the darkest times, whether in Ukraine or America, there will always be room for warm coffee, kind words, and a light that never fades.
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