Members of the Sault’s Ukrainian community - many of them recent arrivals to Canada - enjoyed food, live musical performances and displayed Ukrainian clothing, crafts and books for sale at a free admission Ukrainian-Canadian Heritage Day celebration Saturday at the Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site.
The event was well-attended by non-Ukrainian people interested in learning more about Ukrainian culture.
A long lineup formed outside the Ermatinger Clergue site's Old Stone House to sample Ukrainian food for sale.
Ukrainian delicacies served at the site’s summer kitchen included main courses of borscht - a soup made with meat, vegetables and seasonings - potato and cheese-filled pierogi, dumplings with meat and cabbage rolls.
For dessert, makoviy - bread containing apples and poppy seed paste - and apple pie were available.
There are about 40 Ukrainian families comprising approximately 150 individuals now living in the Sault - joining the community’s existing Ukrainian population - those families having fled the country since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Saturday’s Ukrainian celebration was a first for the city.
As reported earlier, Anastasiia Pavliuk, an Ermatinger Clergue National Historic Site office assistant and a spokesperson for the Sault’s Ukrainian community said “this event is not political. The main goal is to more deeply acquaint the residents of our city with our culture, to tell and show our heritage and traditions. This event is for everyone. I hope this will start a good tradition and become an annual event.”
