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10 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, КВІТЕНЬ 2018 opportunity to recount my fondest memories about a major project our branch undertook shortly after the disaster occurred: a project aimed at alleviating the suffering of the victims of this horrific event. At the time, our branch president was Ma- rianna Zajac (now our national president). It was she, along with another branch founding member, history, arts, and cultural expert and Branch Public Relations chair, Lesya Orlan, who encouraged our branch to sponsor a Medieval Banquet to raise money for the Children of Chornobyl Fund! Both of these women were dynamic powerhouses and fearless thinkers who inspired and motivated us despite our initial fear of the enormity of this pro- ject. Once we realized the depth and breadth of their combined connections to the Ukrainian Mu- seum and throughout UNWLA, we committed our- selves to this noble endeavor. And it was thus that on a Sunday in October of 1997 we hosted a spec- tacular Byzantine Medieval Banquet, a Fashion Show, a Ukrainian Dance performance, and a si- lent auction at an event we titled “Echoes of Byzan- tium.” It was amazing to see how such a huge pro- ject came together with the help of the UNWLA and the community. When we solicited assistance from potential sponsors for this humanitarian event, the responses were overwhelming. We were encouraged and supported by many Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian businesses as well as by private in- dividuals, whose generosity allowed us to make our event even better than we had anticipated. There were some interesting twists and turns along the way. For example, when Ms. Zajac approached our local newspaper editor for a sponsorship, she was pleasantly surprised to see a lovely large pysanka on his desk, a visually undeniable clue that he was Ukrainian! He was indeed and was so supportive of the idea of our fundraiser that he agreed not only to cover the event, he also reserved an entire ban- quet table for himself, his family and his staff! Other surprises followed in connection with the banquet; we had requested that all dinner reserva- tions be made by the day of event and were amazed and delighted that we were completely sold out long before the event! The owners and staff of the local hotel where the event was to be held were happy to help create the ambiance of a Medieval Banquet by al- lowing us to erect a raised draped dais at the front of the room with life-sized painted murals of a Byz- antine Chorus taken from one of Lesya’s Ukrainian art history books. The staff helped us set up the ta- bles to resemble the layout of a castle banquet hall; there would be only candelabras for lighting, and food and dishes typical of Medieval Ukraine would be served in pottery bowls or on metal plates; bev- erages would be served in goblets or tankards, and few utensils (essentially only those used in medie- val times) would be provided to diners. (In other words, guests would be served banquet style finger food with huge napkins!) In the hallway outside the banquet room, we had displays on Ukraine, on historical regional attire, on Chornobyl. Also on display were two do- nated pieces of art that were designated for a silent auction for the fundraiser. The first of these framed pieces was a black and white etching of a Medieval Castle perched on a rocky mount. The work was entitled “Of Knights Remembered” and was created by the late Patricia Muiccio, a talented artist. The second piece was a watercolor of Kyiv’s renowned and beloved St. Sophia’s Church seen through the branches of flowering chestnut trees. Entitled “St Sophia’s at Sunset,” the painting was created by the author of this article. Our continued good fortune made it possi- ble for us to rent a collection of Ukrainian Histori- cal Attire, diligently researched and beautifully recreated by Branch 64. Members of our branch and young girls from a local college donned these costumes and served as models for our Historical Ukrainian Fashion Show. One Branch member and a “Branch Husband” dressed in attire designed for Princess Olga and Prince Volodymyr as part of the collection, and became the “Hosts of the Even- ing,” making a royal entrance at the beginning of the event and offering the traditional welcome of bread and salt. Part of our endeavor was to create a book- let detailing who we are as UNWLA members, the facts of the Chornobyl disaster, our reasons for or- ganizing and hosting the event, descriptions of the individual costumes in the Historical Attire Collec- tion, the evening’s agenda, the various dances per- formed by Ukrainian dancers, bios of artists who had created the donated artwork, and a list of the sponsors who had so generously supported the event. After the dinner, a slide presentation cour- tesy of Dr. Ihor Sawchuk, an assistant professor at Columbia University, illustrated the devastation caused by the explosion of Chornobyl and the re- sulting health issues that it caused. The presenta- tion was narrated by Branch 95 president Mari- anna Zajac; the combination of images and narra- tive highlighted the compelling reason for our fundraiser.
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