Drones, vintage vyshyvankas and help to the military: Ukrainian festival was held in Manhattan 

For three days, the area of ​​Manhattan, which is historically called the Ukrainian village, really became one. At the weekend there was a festival of Ukrainian culture. Even the rain could not scare away the guests and participants of the holiday. Here they were treated to dumplings and pies, sold vyshyvankas and wreaths, sang Ukrainian songs, and, of course, raised money for the army in order to bring Ukraine's victory in the war against Russia closer.

The area, which is called the Ukrainian Village or Little Ukraine, is part of the larger and more famous area of ​​Manhattan - the East Village. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, Ukrainian immigrants settled here en masse - and that is why it got its name. After the end of World War II, more than 60 thousand Ukrainians lived here. Now, of course, it is not affordable for new immigrants to rent an apartment in this area. But the Ukrainian spirit has been preserved here - there is a Ukrainian museum, Ukrainian restaurants, including the famous Veselka, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic church. It is at the Cathedral of St. George at the intersection of 7th Street and Taras Shevchenko Street for several decades that every spring they organizecountry festival.

This year, the opening of the festival was spoiled by heavy rain, but, as it turned out, it did not stop the participants or guests. On the contrary, fragrant borscht and hot dumplings scattered even faster in the rain.

Not a festival, but a volunteer hub

Since the beginning of the war, the festivals have, in fact, turned into a large volunteer center - donations are collected in every tent here. For example, for a donat, you can write a letter to a soldier - and even seal it with yellow and blue sealing wax with a coat of arms.

This is our special project “Write a letter to a Ukrainian soldier”. Anyone can write a letter, and our volunteers will deliver it to the front line very quickly. We send emails literally every week. Here you can see photos of how our defenders receive them. They say that they read letters before the offensive - it raises their morale. We show what we spend donations on - here, on these turnstiles. So we say: “Write one letter and save one life of a soldier”, - says the author of the project Natalya Ostashko.

You can help the Ukrainian fighters here not only morally, but also quite physically. In the same tent, volunteers collect money for drones. Dmitry Top, co-founder of the Liberty Ukraine Foundation, show the entire line of models that they supply to the Ukrainian army. During the war, they have already become experts in this matter - they know for what tasks certain drones are needed. For example, this drone, it is the largest here, the cameras work for ten kilometers. This helps the fighters to do reconnaissance and observe the enemy from a safer distance. You can also use it to adjust artillery. This one costs twelve thousand dollars.

Dmitry says that since the beginning of the war, their organization has sent to Ukraine more than seven hundred conventional drones, three hundred drones with thermal imagers, and about a hundred such professional drones for reconnaissance.

We are an officially registered foundation in America and we hold collections all over the world. For example, we recently went on tour with Okean Elzy. We were responsible for the charity part of this tour, collecting funds for drones. That is, funds come from projects, various festivals in which we definitely participate, and, of course, we also work with large corporations.

On the subject: From Gostomel to New York: Ukrainians held a charity marathon in the USA

Volunteers are all here, and the scale is not so important. Someone represents huge funds with millions of turnovers, and next to it is a tent with goods with Ukrainian symbols - here they collect money for the inhabitants of a small town.

I myself am from a small town in the Ternopil region, it is called Kozovaya, - says the owner of the shop - we send money and other aid directly to our region, we have a volunteer organization called the Kozovshchyna Charitable Foundation, which deals exclusively with our warring fellow countrymen in the East.

There is also one of the oldest Ukrainian organizations in New York - the Union of Ukrainian Women of America. All the goods on their table are handmade, they were brought from Ukraine. Large motanka dolls, wreaths, knitted toys. The latter are made by children with special needs. With the proceeds from sales, the girls will buy medicines - the fighters are already waiting for their parcels. Volunteer Katerina Vinogradova says: they buy everything according to the lists that they receive from military units and hospitals: “Everything, absolutely all the money that we collect here will go to the needs of Ukraine - we leave nothing for ourselves", - the girl assures. There are also sweet lollipops in the shape of Ukraine or in the colors of the flag, cookies and pies. All this was done by Anna Kolomiets, she moved to the USA just a few months ago, she has already studied here as a confectioner and now supports her native country in this way.

“We could not even imagine this”

The queue stands at the tent with a large portrait of Valery Zaluzhny. Volunteers are joking - the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine literally attracts visitors to them. Here everyone is offered to look into virtual reality glasses. There are not movies or games, but terrible photographs and videos of the consequences of the war in Ukraine - you see cities and towns BEFORE and AFTER the start of Russian aggression. Many take off their glasses in tears. “We could not even imagine such a thing,” say tourists from Germany who visited the festival.

In general, Ukrainians are far from being the only guests of the festival. There are quite a few Americans and other tourists here - someone looked in passing by, someone was brought by friends. Everyone praises Ukrainian cuisine and insists that no one forgets about the war in America. “We must help the Ukrainians, this is 100%, - says a local resident Ivann, - This is important not only for Ukraine, but also for the rest of the world. We must stop Putin forever and help all NATO countries, all of Europe. If we do that, which countries will he try to take over next? Finland? Estonia? Latvia? Lithuania? We must not allow this, so our assistance to Ukraine should only grow.

Especially often, Americans look into the tent with Miroslava Semerey's embroidered shirts. She came here from Washington, and has been participating in the festival for 23 years in a row. In Miroslava's store you can find a shirt for every taste and budget. Lviv, Carpathian, Poltava, Bukovinian vyshyvankas play with different patterns and colors. Among them there are also museum exhibits - some taken out of museums, which are now under shelling. This is not for sale, but as a demonstration of how ancient the culture of Ukrainian embroidery is. However, Miroslava says that the Americans do not need to present Ukrainian outfits twice.

They are very interested in embroidered shirts, this year before the day of vyshyvanka there was a rush in general. In general, since Russia started the war with Ukraine, the Americans have been very supportive of us. They buy embroidered shirts, regardless of what nationalities people are - both white Americans and Asians. There are many collectors who buy old embroidered shirts from us. They know that Ukraine is rich in art, they know that Ukrainians do everything with their own hands, and they love it, respect and buy our things for their collections.

The main guests of the festival

Suddenly, there is a commotion in the crowd - the Ukrainian military, who are undergoing rehabilitation in America, come to the festival. They are literally not allowed to pass - every second rushes to hug and thank. Aidarovets Vasily Levchenko - he himself is from Kharkov, has been fighting for a long time, on February 24, 2022 he met near Volnovakha. In America, his shattered leg is put in order and a prosthesis is given to his arm. This is not a quick matter, so the man has been here for several months. He laughs - he came to the festival for the taste of his homeland - and as if he got to the street in Lviv or Ternopil. I walked a little - and immediately I wanted to go home even more strongly. Vasily plans to return not only to Ukraine, but also to the war.

Now I have to get another prosthesis, because this one is very delicate, it is not suitable for war. And after that I will return to my unit - and there, what exactly I will do will depend on how I will recover. While the bone in my leg is slowly growing together, the doctors wanted to leave me here for a year, but a year is definitely a lot, a month and a half more rehabilitation - and go home.

Volunteers from the Revived Soldiers Ukraine Foundation helped Vasily and other soldiers to come to rehabilitation - they are helping wounded soldiers.

In general, I was amazed at how many Ukrainians there are in America and how friendly they all are. I talked with the Americans and asked them: how do you like the Ukrainians? They say: you are different from all other nations. You are very friendly. You simply cannot find others like this in America. I think we have now become some kind of discovery for the world. Previously, we were perceived, I think, as part of Russia, but now the world is beginning to discover Ukrainians and Ukraine for itself. It is a pity, of course, that we pay a very high price for this, - Vasily says.

By evening, the pouring rain subsides, and people are drawn to the stage - both local bands and an invited guest, the leader of the “Lament of Jeremiah” band Taras Chubay, are performing here today. He came from Ukraine specifically for the festival. Both guests and participants sing “Tape after Ribbon” together – Manhattan is filled not only with yellow and blue flags, but also with Ukrainian music.