Celebrate all things Ukrainian during the 39th Yarmarok festival

It has been 39 years since the Ukrainian National Federation hosted the first Yarmarok festival in Sudbury.

Keri Shewchuk, director of the Veselka School of Dance, said fall and the festival are almost synonymous.

“For many of our members, they cannot remember a time when October didn’t mean Yarmarok — the celebration of the Ukrainian culture through song, dance, and of course food,” Shewchuk said, adding that “Yarmarok” is the Ukrainian word for “marketplace.”

Even though many need to work through some anxieties about being on stage, when the young dancers first put on the brightly coloured Ukrainian costumes, they can’t help but get swept up in the flurry of activities and excitement that is Yarmarok.

This year, like every other, the festival will kick off at the Ukrainian National Federation hall with the Opening Night Gala tomorrow. Besides cocktails and a buffet dinner, the Veselka Dance Ensemble will provide the entertainment, featuring the live Ukrainian band “Zabava.” Tickets are $40 per person.

The festival opens at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the UNF Hall, 130 Frood Road. Admission is free. The festival includes an eat-in and take out buffet in the lower hall, the Kozak Coffee den, vendors, children’s games, bake table, penny table, raffles, and a fashion show.

Of course, all of the children’s groups with the Veselka Dance Ensemble will perform, as will the Dnipro Ladies Ensemble. And, as a special treat, members of the Canada World Youth Exchange, half of whom hail from the Ukraine, will be on hand to perform two dances.

Show times are noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. daily.

For more information, please call 705-673-0890 or visit sudburyyarmarok.webs.com.