In Kirkland, Washington, the Ukrainian Cultural Center Toloka organized and hosted the Green Week Festival, dedicated to the Green Holidays. The event brought together the Ukrainian community and friends of Ukraine around traditional culture, cuisine, music, creative workshops, and charitable initiatives.
This was reported by Ukrainian Cultural Center Toloka.
The festival took place on June 13 at Marina Park and lasted throughout the day. Guests were treated to a packed program of concerts, master classes, children’s activities, a Ukrainian crafts fair, and gastronomic events.
One of the main attractions was a borscht competition, which was attended by Emish Market, La Cherie Bakery, Pie Style, Our Lady of Zarvanycia Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and Ukrainian Orthodox Church Seattle. Visitors had the opportunity to taste various recipes of Ukrainian dishes and vote for their favorite.
A separate part of the festival was gastronomic demonstrations of cooking original borscht. Guests were presented with green borscht, as well as borscht on ribs with soaked apples and cherries.
The festival also introduced visitors to Ukrainian art. The VR exhibition “Primachenko. Unknown”, created in collaboration with the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Ukraine and the eMuseum platform, attracted particular attention. Thanks to modern technologies, participants could see 79 original works by the legendary artist Maria Primachenko.
A separate zone with creative activities, face painting, games and workshops was open for children. Sportcare Academy, Ukrainian School Vyriy and other partners joined the organization of children's activities.
During the day, visitors could take part in master classes on weaving wreaths, traditional embossing of Ukrainian ornaments and making candles from natural beeswax.
The festival stage featured musical groups and performers, including IZI Band, Sasha Dreaming, headliner band HraiMore, and other artists. The festive atmosphere was complemented by DJ sets from Belkin, Zvøner, Enjie, and Dima Dms, a concert program, and an evening stand-up performance by Ukrainian comedian Vasyl Baydak as part of his charity tour of the USA and Canada.
According to preliminary information, just two performances by Vasyl Baydak in Seattle helped raise almost $38,000 through ticket sales and donations in support of Ukraine.
Festival guests also had the opportunity to taste traditional Ukrainian dishes, including varenyky, golubtsi, chebureks, pies, vatrushkas, and mlyntsi, as well as purchase products from Ukrainian craftsmen, natural cosmetics, and handmade souvenirs.
So Green Week became not only a celebration of Ukrainian culture, but also a platform for community unity, popularization of Ukrainian traditions, and support for charitable initiatives for the benefit of Ukraine.
Photo: kolosok_ok/Instagram, mightymad/Instagram, Sportcare Academy/Facebook
Author: Inna Mikhno