On June 10th, 2018, sumivtsi from southern Ontario and their special guests, sumivtsi from the Montreal Branch, gathered to celebrate Sviato Vesny – the official end to the CYM year and start of the summer tabir season. A special thank you is extended to the members of the CYM Montreal Branch, who participated for the second year in a row.
Youth and adult members, along with their families from St. Catharines, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal branches were present on Sunday. Members of the National Executive also participated.
The day began with Divine Liturgy at the camp chapel. Father Boris Hemon from St. Joseph’s parish in Oakville was present to celebrate the service. After the Liturgy, under the musical accompaniment of the Baturyn Marching Band, CYMivtsi in their uniforms marched over to the stage for the official portion of the day.
Director of the National Executive’s Educational Council Natalka Schturyn in her brief remarks called upon the youth to build on the accomplishments achieved throughout the past 70 years and continue to actively pursue new goals based on our long-held values and traditions, and to support Ukraine in its struggle against the renewed imperial aspirations of its northern neighbour.
Additionally, she thanked the members of camp Veselka’s management team for their hard work over many years, especially the outgoing chair, Yurko Shust. Furthermore, she asked everyone to honour with a moment of silence the memory of the late John Koshyk, former chair of ‘Dyrektsia’ and the driving force behind the new Michael Galandiuk Pavillion, who unexpectedly passed away earlier this year.
After the remarks, youth as young as 6 years old, all the way to young adult members received their badges and were upgraded in their standings within the organization after a year of hard work and fun times with their friends.
At the conclusion of the organizational portion, President of the Etobicoke Branch and Master of Ceremonies, Mark Diaczun encouraged all present to financially support the fourth charitable camp for children affected by the war in Eastern Ukraine and displaced as a result of the fighting by making a donation to: https://www.gofundme.com/displaced-ukrainian-children-camp campaign.
In the afternoon, the winners of the various competitions held the day before during the second annual ‘Yunatskyy Zlet’ were awarded prizes and trophies to recognize their various accomplishments. Organizers of the Zlet, primarily the CYM Mississauga Branch, and particularly Laryssa Stech, deserve our heartfelt gratitude for a tremendously successful event.
Please visit the following link for additional photographs: Sviato Vesny’18.
