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28 WWW.UNWLA.ORG “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИСТОПАД 2019 A Festival of Cultures by Tania Szumskyj Blanco Ukraine on Display at Festival of Cultures, September 2019 Presented by Community Relations Commission, City of Wheaton, Illinois Last year, a friend invited me to participate in an outdoor suburban festival to represent my Ukrainian culture . I must have been in an adventurous mood because I consider myself an introvert and don’t nor- mally engage in public speaking. My friend, Tony , asked me if I would speak about my experience as an immigrant and set up a table with some artifacts. I had cart blanche and a week to prepare. My t able was small and I showed an embroidered table cover, some pysanky I had made , a volume of Shevchenko’s Kobzar and a few ceramic vases. I didn’t even have a Ukrainian flag , and this omission was magnified because I was positioned next to an elaborate and well - staffed Polish display . This year I agreed again, but was better prepared for a more elaborate display that included wood engravings, icons, a wide range of embroidered cloths, ceramic vases of different regional styles, jewelry, sheaves of wheat, two Ukrainian flags, a Ukrainian dance costume, a portrait of Taras Shevchenko, and bilingual publications ( including Nashe Zyttia ) as well as a copy o f a recently published book by Darian Diachok about his family’s escape from Ukraine after W orld War Two. The one thing I regretted not having was a bouquet of our beloved sunflowers. Being a part of a multicultural event turned out to be quite interestin g and very different from being part of an all - things - Ukrainian event. Because I was the only representative of Eastern Europe at this event, I had no competition . As a matter of fact, Europe was represented only by Scotland, Italy and France. Other cultur es participating at this year’s festival were Ethiopian, Guatemalan Mexican, Indian, Liberian, Korean, South Sudanese, and Vietnamese. The event was small but was well organized and in- clude d a stage for musical performances of various groups. The children who attended with their families were offered a scavenger hunt card. Any child who could get a signature from each booth would win a prize . The participating countries were listed on each card, and I gladly signed many little cards for those that could sho w me where Ukraine was listed. I still smile when I remember the young boy of 11 who proudly told me he had done a report on Ukraine last year because his grandfather was Ukrainian. “I know all about it.”
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