Ukrainian Day at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village - Display Table

I had a “Trace Your Roots – Ukrainian Canadian Genealogy” display table at this event on Sunday, August 20, 2023, in rural Alberta.

The Alberta-Ukraine Genealogy Project (AUGP) was launched on August 13, 2006, and ended in 2018. This project operated out of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village. Some of their work is on the Family History Portal – University of Alberta. And the AUGP documents have been sent to the Basilian Fathers Museum in Mundare, Alberta. I have a binder of the AUGP Family History Index which was a very popular look ups at my display table (it is online at their portal). Many people found the community history books that their ancestors have a family history story.

https://sites.ualberta.ca/~ukrville/Family_History_Portal/fhp.htm

https://basilianmuseum.ca/

Numerous people approached my table from the first wave of Ukrainian settlers (1892-1915) to Ukrainian newcomers. I even had a couple Ukrainian University of Alberta students talk to me about Ukraine’s history in the 1700-1800’s. One lady spoke about how doing genealogy is like detective work as she encouraged her son to get more involved. If you are also organized and have a good memory, this is a bonus. Lots of people also commented about having someone in their family who is or has done their family history. This is good to hear.

Some spoke about how their grandparents did not want to talk about the “old country” nor about the first years in Canada. Our sense was that it was very difficult. We also chatted about how time heals and that some details years ago that were an issue, today are part of life. I remember after publishing my Kalynchuk Family History book in 1993, one of my cousins commented about people only writing what was good and not the full story. And I remember my Aunties telling me to put down my pen and they will tell me some real good stories. When I got home or in my car, I took notes and am very grateful for this.



A couple of people told me that they have Igor Voronchak or Andriy Dorosh doing their genealogy research in Western Ukraine, and this made me very happy as I know the professional level of work that these two gentlemen do.

Igor Voronchak can be reached at voronchak@ukr.net

Andriy Dorosh can be reached at andriy@doroshheritagetours.com or through https://doroshheritagetours.com/

Anthony Hrabok and Henriette Chomiak are the Coordinators of the Folk Arts venue at the Vegreville Pysanka Festival and share the love of doing genealogy and family research with me. They came and assisted at our display table. Also, Anthony knew how to set up and take down the tent. I pulled up Henriette’s grandfather, Wasyl’s profile on Ancestry and she was excited to find out that 15 people have family trees on him, on Ancestry.ca. I really appreciate their assistance and friendship.

Henriette, Anthony, Nathan and Elaine

I also met up with a few people who I had volunteered with in the past on other projects, and one highlight was seeing Nathan Ip. He is the MLA for Edmonton South-West. We volunteered together on Gary Mar and Dave Hancock’s political campaigns. Nathan was born in Taiwan.

I brought all of the same information that I had at the Vegreville Pysanka Festival but adapted to having only one 6-foot table. A lesson learned is to go through my books in advance and pull out the most important ones. I had my car parked behind the table, but it would be easier if I had only one box to carry out instead of looking through four boxes and a few recycle bags!

We were near the Band Shell and it was wonderful to hear the music. As we were packing up the song, Kalyna was playing. This is the root of my surname and the original singer Sofia Rotaru, from the Chernitsi region.

I am grateful to the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Alberta Provincial Council for organizing and hosting this event. The program that they put together was impressive and the number of volunteers especially Ukrainian newcomers was wonderful to see. The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is a worthwhile place to visit anytime during the summer months. On the weekends, they have special events.

They also have an exhibit gallery to provide a closer understanding of early Ukrainian settlement in east central Alberta.  https://ukrainianvillage.ca/

The Ukrainian Canadian Congress - Alberta Provinicial Council also has a link to the "Community Events in Alberta". At the bottom of the event page is "Subscribe to calendar" and I receive their e-newsletter via Outlook. https://www.uccab.ca/