Ukrainian dancers Vernon Winter Carnival, 1979 I-13036

Ukrainian dancers Vernon Winter Carnival, 1979 I-13037

When we see Ukrainian dances at a folk festival or other celebration, we see men in baggy pants with red boots, and women wearing flowers and ribbons in their hair. This costume goes with the popular type of dance which comes from one of the largest regions in the Ukraine, called Poltava.

Ukrainian dancers Vernon Winter Carnival, 1979 I-13033

Ukrainian folk dancing is exciting to watch because the men perform acrobatic jumps and the women spin at dizzying speeds. The rhythm of the music and the energy of the dancers, make it hard for the audience to sit still. There are many Ukrainian dance groups in Canada today, keeping the tradition of Ukrainians alive, while also searching for new, artistic ways to interpret the lives of Ukrainians.

Ed Polowy, regarding growing up in Vancouver in a Ukrainian immigrant family:

"Mom and dad and the 3 of us children came in 1930, from Edmonton. In 1931 he started up the first delicatessen east of Main Street ... Ukrainian-style sausages and salamis, and head cheeses, herring, koasses, a Ukrainian garlic sausage. My mother was the driving force behind the business, she had the physical strength and my dad was the brains behind it ... There was always lots to do."

"The Ukrainian Hall was right in the centre. They had dancing, choir, Ukrainian school - language school, music, drama, social affairs, the whole bit - concerts every Sunday, sometimes matinees."

Provincial Archives of British Columbia. Sound Heritage. Victoria. Vol. VIII, nos. 1 -2

        

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