Vechornytsi in Mariupol
Folk fest “Touch Your Sources”
The vechornytsi (evening revels) were organized and staged by the Women’s Association of the Illich Metallurgical Combine. According to the association’s chairwoman Iryna Badasen, the combine has 32,394 female employees. The workshops and subdivisions of this enterprise are scattered far beyond the borders of Mariupol. The organizers of the festival, among them performing groups of Mariupol Television and the Palace of Metallurgists, wanted to expose city residents to various facets of the rich national cultural traditions of their land and to spark the younger generation’s interest in its roots, the clear springs of national culture.
In the spacious foyer of the palace, guests explored a display of embroidered towels, icons, paintings, and souvenirs made by workers of the combine. The Shumka Folk Ensemble performed fiery Ukrainian melodies, accompanying dancers clad in various national costumes: Ukrainians, Gypsies, Germans, and others. After this improvised warm-up act, an unusual gala concert was held on the second floor. Viewers of the popular local TV program “Azm yesm” were in for a surprise, and the program was broadcast live from the Palace of Metallurgists.
“Azm yesm” is the brain-child of journalist-host Serhiy Rozhnovsky and is dedicated to Mariupol’s ethnic communities. It is the only program in our city that comes out in Ukrainian. During the two years of its existence this television project has become one of the most successful ones. In January of this year Rozhnovsky’s program won the Grand Prix of the All-Ukrainian competition “Media for Interethnic Tolerance.”
Among those who took part in the special broadcast of the program were representatives of various national-cultural associations in Mariupol: “Wiedergeburt” (Germans), “Georgia,” Armenian and Polish societies, women’s clubs of the Greek and Jewish communities, the national-cultural association of Roms “Novy svit”, and associations representing the Latin American Diaspora. The concert program of the festival was remarkable for its ethnic diversity and color. Professional and amateur groups performed Ukrainian, Greek, Russian, Gypsy, Armenian, Jewish, Polish, German, and Cuban folk songs. For many in the audience the greatest attraction was the children’s Musical and Choreographic Theater’s performance of “Koliadky,” a fragment of the opera Zyma-Vesna. Members of the audience at the Palace of Metallurgists and viewers who watched the “Azm yesm” program at home noted the festival’s atmosphere of sincerity and generosity. Actors from various ethnic communities presented their musical gifts. The folk group Kozachka from the village of Khomutovo (Agroshop 19) sang “The Cossack Don”; the vocal group Stela from the village of Styla (Agroshop 50) sang the Greek folk song “Udronaide”; the folk ensemble Kalyna from the village of Melekino (Agroshop 21) performed the Ukrainian wedding song “We Wish You Happiness.” The performers spanned the age spectrum, with Apolinaria Napcha performing an Urum folk song, and the youngest festival participant, eight- year-old Liza Kozak, singing the Russian folk song “The Little Town of Samara.”
Both performers and spectators talked for a long time after the performance. The television cameras were turned off, but the singing and dancing continued.
