Exploring Midsummer Traditions of Ukraine

In this hands-on gathering we will learn about the Ukrainian midsummer celebration Ivana Kupala. Musician and storyteller Beverly Dobrinsky will explain the historical merging of pagan summer solstice traditions and the Christian Feast Day of St. John the Baptist, outlining cultural aspects such as the clothing, food, songs, stories and rituals that mark the magical time of transition between summer solstice and harvest time. She’ll help us prepare for the Summer Solstice by teaching us how to make head wreaths (vinoks) from local greenery (zeellia), as young women in Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe have done for thousands of years. We’ll also learn a solstice song and explore myths such as the elusive flowering fern, a plant so secretive that it only reveals itself at midnight on midsummer’s eve.

Beverly’s three previous Secret Salons were extremely well attended and tickets are expected to go quickly, so please book your spot as soon as possible. A portion of ticket sales will be donated to the Ukrainian Canadian Advocacy Group’s Rehabilitation Program: https://www.ucadvocacygroup.org/rehabilitation-program.

Event Notes / Be Prepared:

• Tickets are available by sliding scale: $30-$50. Suggested admission: $35.
  Your donation contributes directly to supporting our programming to continue ongoing learning and cultural sharing. We thank you for your support. If you have financial barriers preventing you from purchasing a ticket, please email [email protected] and we will do our best to accommodate.
• Doors open at 6:30 PM and the event will start promptly at 7:00 PM. Please do your best to be on time as late arrivals will be disruptive to activities in progress.
• This event is for participants ages 12+. Space is limited to 20 participants so please register early.
• We will provide some local greenery for the wreath-making but please bring any additional foliage from abandoned sites or your gardens to personalize your wreath and make it extra special.
• Beverly will bring a homemade traditional food, and if you are so moved, please bring some fruit to share.
• Wear something you find beautiful and comfortable. Feel free to wear any vyshyvanky (embroidered shirt, dress or scarf) you may have, but be aware that we will be actively making vinoks, eating and drinking.
  Your donation contributes directly to supporting our programming to continue ongoing learning and cultural sharing. We thank you for your support. If you have financial barriers preventing you from purchasing a ticket, please email [email protected] and we will do our best to accommodate.

Beverly Dobrinsky is a Vancouver musician and storyteller who works both as a soloist and in various artistic collaborations. In 1991, inspired by the centenary of Ukrainian immigration to Canada, she founded “Zeellia”, a Slavic Soul sextet which specializes in E. European traditional music with a contemporary edge. She produced three Zeellia CDs, and performed with Zeellia across Canada and in NY city. She was the musical director of the Barvinok Choir, a choir based in Vancouver’s historic Ukrainian Hall from 2001-2022. In 2009 she was the artist in residence at the Carnegie Community Centre in Vancouver’s downtown east side and led “The Carnegie Village Project,” a community engaged project using song, poetry and story to express the uniqueness of that particular community. Over the years, she has been involved in several projects with Vancouver Moving Theatre, including “Bread and Salt” in 2013, and the evolving “Big House” from 2009-2015. She is currently working on creating a podcast series—Finding My Own Voice— a legacy project which allows her to look back at the arc of her career as a musician and storyteller; and in so doing honour ancestors, family and community who have supported her along the way. In this series, she will be examining her own process of uncovering and divesting colonial expectations and inviting other artists to present their work and discuss their own process of colonial divestment and cultural retrieval.

Secret Headquarters is gratefully situated on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. We honor, respect, and give thanks to our hosts.

Host or Publisher Secret Lantern Society