An event filled with Ukrainian art and culture was held on Sunday, April 24 in Eden.
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Led and facilitated by members of the local Ukrainian community and their friends, the workshop and afternoon tea was a celebration of Ukrainian Orthodox Easter, and simultaneously raised money for an emergency appeal for the current conflict.
The afternoon at Eden Uniting Church Hall was attended by 18 people, who took great pleasure in learning the traditional art of pysanky - Ukrainian Easter eggs.
Made using a wax resist method, participants learnt how to prepare, design and preserve the colourfully decorated eggs, an artform thousands of years old.
Savoury and sweet traditional Ukrainian foods were also enjoyed and stories shared by members of the local Ukrainian community.
Event organiser Shannon Woloshyn said the workshop provided a platform to celebrate the beautiful and unique Ukrainian culture as a community.
"On this day, the pysanka artform serves as a medium to strengthen community bonds and resilience as it has for generations," Shannon said.
"People with connections to Ukraine were feeling helpless and not sure what to do in the current situation. This gave an opportunity for them to gather and share beautiful culture with the community.
"It was really special, especially in light of the suffering people in Ukraine are facing at a time which is meant to represent celebration and new beginnings," Shannon said.
Bega Valley Shire councillor Karen Wright participated, and said it was lovely way to connect and reflect upon current events together.
"It was so beautiful to meet members of the Ukrainian community, eat together and enjoy learning a craft which pre-dates Christianity, in Eden!" Karen said.
Learning the process to make the pysanky provided a great tool for discussing Ukrainian history and culture, and Shannon said people were very interested in the history and symbolism.
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"It was really touching to see people connect to the meaning of the activity and incorporate it with their own traditions or art backgrounds, including messages of hope and perseverance," she said.
"A lot of people made this happen, the Uniting Church provided the hall, co-organiser Alex Dalton made the necessary tools and helped with planning, and Tabitha Bilaniwskyj-Zarins provided amazing décor and all around support."
The beautiful food was supplied by members of the Ukrainian community and Andy Zarins played music which people enjoyed dancing to.
The event was booked out in advance, with extra people attending to observe, donate money and enjoy afternoon tea - $1050 in total was raised to be donated to the Emergency Action Alliance (EAA).
"It was wonderful to bring so much community together, everyone was grateful and touched by it," Shannon said.
Leah Szanto
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
Regional journalist covering the Far South Coast of NSW.
