Ukrainians began immigrating to Baltimore in the 1880s. Most of these immigrants came from Western Ukraine and were Catholic. In 2000 the Baltimore Ukrainian community totaled almost 11,000 people. [i] Each year the community celebrates its heritage with a festival featuring food, crafts, dancing, and music from their homeland.
The festival this year was held in a large park in a neighborhood known as The Little Ukrainian Village in Baltimore.[ii] Hundreds of people ignored the hot weather—temperatures of 34 degrees Celsius—-and came to enjoy the fun.
Church and civic groups sold Ukrainian food—halupsy, pierogies, and paska bread—and beautiful Ukrainian crafts—embroidered shirts, pisanki eggs, dolls, jewelry, music CDs and Ukrainian flags.
Many prayers for peace were said for the people of Ukraine, and a moment of silence was observed for Ukrainians who died in the current conflict. Support for a free and independent Ukraine was expressed by many people.
The Carpathia Folk Dance Ensemble and the Lyman Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, dressed in beautiful Ukrainian folk costumes, performed traditional dances from various regions of Ukraine. These young Ukrainian-Americans expressed such joy and pride in their heritage.
Attending the festival, for me, was almost as good as returning to Ukraine. The sights, the sounds and the aromas reminded me of my friends in Kirovograd and increased my desire to return.
[1] History of the Ukrainians in Baltimore, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/History_of_the_Ukrainians_in_Baltimore. 9/9/2014.
[1] History of the Ukrainians in Baltimore, Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/History_of_the_Ukrainians_in_Baltimore. 9/9/2014.