The annual celebration of the Ukrainian New Year’s, Malanka, will be held on Saturday, Jan. 23 at McKenna Hall in Weyburn, hosted by the Weyburn and District Ukrainian Canadian Cultural group.
The evening will feature a Ukrainian supper and entertainment, with dance and music.
The Malanka celebration will help kick off a significant milestone, as this year is the 125th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, and a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress will be on hand to talk about what is being planned to mark this occasion.
The full evening of entertainment will be held in two parts, as doors open at 4 and entertainment starts at 5, with the dinner at 6, and entertainment resuming at 7, and a dance will be held starting at 9 p.m.
The entertainers include the Chaban Ukrainian Dance Ensemble from Regina, the Kraplenka Dance Ensemble of Weyburn, Magic of Karpaty from Midale, and a special guest, Bogdan Dubovyy of Toronto, formerly of Ukraine.
Based in Regina, Chaban is under artistic director Oksana Sholdra, and has been performing for 37 years throughout North America.
Weyburn-based Kraplenka Dance Ensemble has four age categories for Ukrainian dancing in the southeast.
Musician Nadia Babchouk heads up Magic of Karpaty, featuring her on violin, playing traditional songs as well as her own songs. She grew up in the Ivano Frankivsk region of west Ukraine, and now resides in Midale.
Bogdan Dubovyy was born and raised in the Ternopil region of west-central Ukraine, and he studied at the Ternopil Academy. He was lead singer in numerous groups, and has toured throughout Ukraine, Poland and Europe.
He emigrated to Toronto in 2002, and from this base he performs traditional songs of Ukraine at festivals, functions and events.
Tickets for Malanka 2016 are available at Superior Office Products, and sell for $45 per adult, and $25 for children under 12, with six and under free of charge. Tickets will only be available until Wednesday, Jan. 20.
