Ukraine Minority - Ukrainian Language

From countries of the former Soviet bloc and Yugoslavia

48th Annual Pittsburgh Folk Festival, (May 30, 2004)

...Nan Krushinski, publicity chairwoman for the folk festival, says the theme this year for the cultural area will center on food. Participating organizations are invited to present educational displays and food booths spotlighting their nationalities' culinary specialties and their native countries' crops and products. She is helping to organize Ireland's display, which will feature traditional Irish favorites such as shepherd's pie, ham and cabbage, Irish stew, soda bread and scones.

At the Ukrainian cultural area, Poltava, an ethnic dance company affiliated with Our Lady of Victory Maronite Church in Scott Township, will provide stage performances, according to Luba Hlutkowsky of Carnegie, a longtime festival volunteer. In the cultural area, there will be demonstrations of Pysanky, or Ukranian decorated Easter eggs, and displays of traditional festive breads, including karovai (wedding bread), pascha (Easter bread) and kolacz (Christmas bread).

"The Ukraine is one of the six original groups in our 48th year at the folk festival," Hlutkowsky says. "There are 30,000 Ukrainians in the tri-state area."

...On Sunday, bluegrass music by Northwest Territory will fill the air, and the dance ensembles of Scotland, Slovakia, China, Carpatho-Rusyn, Hawaii, Latin America, Ireland, Germany, Bulgaria, India, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland and the Philippines will perform throughout the day. The rocking country sounds of The Povertyneck Hillbillies round out the weekend on Sunday at 6 pm.

...Local and regional entertainers also will perform. On the Beer Garden Stage on Friday, visitors can celebrate "Oktoberfest in May" with the oom-pah band sounds of The Barons. On Saturday, they can enjoy the Celtic sounds of Bad Strad and a Tinikling workshop by the Filipinos. Other performances will be by Zvezda, a Balkan women's singing ensemble, bluegrass band Northwest Territory, and early American music by The Coal Country Cloggers...