Ukrainian Fest attendees leave differences at door

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

AUSTINTOWN

As many people today spend a lot of time debating with one another about a host of topical issues, a major benefit of a longtime indoor festival is giving attendees an opportunity to sideline religious, political and other differences, an organizer says.

“People of all faiths can set aside their religious and political differences and enjoy the music, food and friendships,” said the Rev. Lubomyr Zhybak, pastor of St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church, the site of Sunday afternoon’s annual fall Ukrainian Festival. “We don’t have to look at the things that divide us, but at what unites us.”

Sponsors included Schwebel’s Bakery and Marco’s Pizza.

Uniting the hundreds of people who attended the six-hour family-friendly fest at the 51-year-old church, 4310 Kirk Road, was the variety of ethnic foods and music.

In addition to offering authentic, traditional Ukrainian dishes and entertainment, the festival was to “keep our community together and keep our traditions alive,” Father Zhybak noted.

Main meal choices included holupki (stuffed cabbage), haluski (noodles and cabbage) and borscht (red beet soup), along with sauerkraut, hot dogs, kielbasi and pirogi. Baked goods and Ukrainian beers also were available.

Providing much of the entertainment was The Zaps Orchestra, a local five-piece band that specializes in Ukrainian and Eastern European folk music and dabbles in polka tunes.

Hearing much of the band’s repertoire is like a nostalgic step back in time for many listeners, said Fred Yasnowski, the group’s front man.

“A lot of the music is what their parents or grandparents might have heard,” Yasnowski explained. “A lot of people come up to us and say, ‘My dad used to sing that song.’”

The other four members of the 5- or 6-year-old band – Vern Worona, accordion; Lauren Drombeta, keyboard; Joe Zdelar, bass; and John Massaros, drums – are steeped in Eastern European tradition. Drombeta is a fourth-generation Ukrainian, Yasnowski said.

Items for sale at the fest included compact discs, emblems, coffee cups, T-shirts and a series of books, all related to Ukrainian culture, courtesy of Parma-based Cataract Press, a Ukrainian publishing house since 1975.

One of the books, “Their Land: An Anthology of Ukrainian Short Stories,” remains a popular seller, even though it was printed in 1964. “Their Land” is a collection of classic 19th-century literature, a Cataract Press representative said.

The event also featured a basket auction and a series of raffles that included a chance to win a dozen frozen pirogies.