Hundreds of Ukrainian dancers graced the stage at the Vic Juba Community Theatre as the Lloydminster Malanka Dancers held Ukrainian Dancing on the Border.
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The event, which ran from March 27-30, has a long history in Lloydminster and brings in hundreds of people.
“This year is our 18th annual Ukranian Dancing on the Border festival. It’s a dance festival that celebrates Ukrainian culture, our heritage and all these kids with all of the hard work they’re putting into their performances,” said Tara Jarvis, event organizer.
“This year we have almost 450 dancers, and that’s just dancers and families that have come into town. We have 471 routines this year, so we ended up expanding it into four days instead of our traditional three.”
Families come from all corners of Saskatchewan and Alberta. Luckily, the snowstorms rolling through both provinces didn’t hinder the event.
“This is the first year that I’ve experienced snow during the festival. We’ve been very fortunate, most families braved the weather and the roads,” she said.
Only one club was unable to attend due to the storms.
“We have clubs coming in from all over Alberta and Saskatchewan that come and participate,” said Jarvis.
She says some performers begin practicing in September for festival season while others begin practicing up to a year out.
The money from the event goes to help the club.
“We have these two events every year. We have this festival then we have, this year it’s going to be Vesna (on the Border Celebration) in May, on May 3,” said Jarvis. “These two major fundraisers keep the registration fees affordable for families to be able to participate in dance.”
Costumes have to be purchased for the event.
“There’s a lot of pretty costumes and most of them come from Ukraine,” she said. “Some of them are even passed down from generations.”
Vendors were also set up in Lakeland College that were selling items from Ukraine.
Tickets for the May 3 Vesna on the Border Celebration can be purchased online at lloydminstermalankadancers.com
Read more: Ukrainians ready to dance on border
