Barveenok Ukrainian Dance Club celebrates 40 years of tradition and friendship
The smell of home-cooked pierogis, kielbasa and other traditional dishes filled the halls of St. George’s Ukrainian Catholic Hall.
Dancers young and old milled about wearing a variety of richly coloured embroidered outfits. Friends and family shared a meal and greeted each other with smiles. Attendees then shuffled eagerly into an upper hall as dancers assembled downstairs.
Among the nearly one hundred-strong crowd seated beneath a Ukrainian flag tacked to the back of the room was Nellie Bachek, one of the founding members of the Barveenok Dancers. She was the first president of the Barveenok dance club in Prince Albert, a role she held for 16 years.
“It is wonderful, it really is wonderful,” she said when asked her thoughts on seeing the club strong and well almost a half-century on. “I am so glad we are still here. We have good organizers and good people looking after us.”