Event: Ukrainian Children’s Day, an interactive Ukrainian culture program
Date and Time:
Saturday, May 16. 2015
3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Location: 860 Ulster Ave., Kingston
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY – Arts Mid-Hudson Folk Arts Program, the Mid-Hudson Library Association, and the Ukrainian National Women’s League of America Branch 95 present Ukrainian Children’s Day on Saturday, May 16, 2015 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm at the Town of Ulster Public Library in Kingston. During the program, children can learn about Ukrainian children’s culture through several interactive craft stations led by volunteers from the area Ukrainian community. The program is free and open to the public.
Featured activities at this hands-on program for children of all ages include traditional Ukrainian crafts like pysanky (colorful and intricate painting of eggs) and vyshyvky (distinctive intricate embroidery). A highlight of the afternoon will be an interactive telling of a traditional Ukrainian fairy tale.
The Mid-Hudson Valley is home to a vibrant Ukrainian community, predominantly based in Ulster County. Some members of this multigenerational community emigrated from Ukraine, some are first- or second-generation Americans. This proud community celebrates Ukrainian cultural heritage at home, at church, and in public settings. Most notable among these public settings is Soyuzivka Heritage Center in Kerhonkson. Each summer, children of Ukrainian descent from throughout the Northeast attend Ukrainian heritage camps at Soyuzivka where they learn language, dance, crafts and customs. The May 16 Children’s Day program is like a miniature Ukrainian heritage camp for non-Ukrainian children. Visitors are welcome to come and go at this family friendly, interactive event. The Town of Ulster Library is located at860 Ulster Avenue in Kingston. For directions, call the library at 845-338-7881.
Arts Mid-Hudson’s Ukrainian Children’s Day program is part of an ongoing series exploring how people from countries whose populations are represented in the Mid-Hudson Valley celebrate and honor their children. At each event, members of the respective cultural groups engage children in interactive activities, including games and songs, stories, and paper crafts. This series is made possible in part thanks to funding from the Robert R. Chapman Fund of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.
The Arts Mid-Hudson Folk Arts Program researches and presents the arts and traditions that form our diverse communities’ cultural heritages. Through educational public programs, the Folk Arts Program interprets the traditions of ethnic, occupational, and religious groups in the Mid-Hudson region. The Program is open to suggestions about how to assist in celebrating your community’s heritage. Ukrainian National Women’s League of America began as a philanthropic organization to help Ukrainian women in Ukraine and to those coming to the United States. Members continue to fulfill that mission and also work to promote Ukrainian culture and heritage. There are regional councils throughout the world; Branch 95 has served the Mid-Hudson Valley area for more than twenty years. The women of Branch 95 are devoted to preserving and building awareness of the traditions and folk customs of Ukraine. They raise funds for many worthy causes, including the elderly in the U.S. and Ukraine, and offer language classes, and workshops on traditional crafts including pysanky and embroidery. For more information about their organization, visit www.unwla.org.
Ukrainian Children’s Day ~ A hands-on Ukrainian culture program for children
Saturday, May 16, 2015
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Town of Ulster Public Library (860 Ulster Avenue, Kingston)
___________
The mission of Arts Mid-Hudson is to provide vision and leadership to support thriving and diverse arts in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
Arts Mid-Hudson was established in 1964 as the Dutchess County Arts Council, a private, nonprofit arts service organization to promote cultural activity and development in Dutchess County. Arts Mid-Hudson engages and promotes the arts across the Mid-Hudson region through four initiatives: Cultural Development and Arts Services, Resource Development and Grant Making, Advocacy and Public Awareness, and Folk Arts Programs, providing best practices in the arts to ensure that our region retains its artists and arts organizations. Through our art partners, a diverse offering of arts and cultural programs, many free, attract a range of age groups, and are produced across a broad geographic area.
For more information on Arts Mid-Hudson: www.artsmidhudson.org, visit AMH on Facebook or Tumblr, or call 845-454-3222.
