The 24th annual Ukrainian Festival of Minnesota is a free two-day festival at the Minneapolis Ukrainian American Community Center held Sept. 19-20 that celebrates Ukrainian culture and history. 

For some members of the Ukrainian community, the Ukrainian Festival serves as a way to honor and preserve Ukrainian culture in wartime.

The festival originally started in the 1960s, when Ukrainians in Minnesota were divided into different churches. Then, the festival was originally called the Ukrainian Heritage Festival. 

The festival died down in the 1970s and was later revamped in 2001 as the Ukrainian Festival, according to Kostiantyn Korchak, the vice president of operations at the Ukrainian American Community Center.

Hamline University professor Mykola Megits said the original festival was a way to bridge the gap between different generations of Ukrainian immigrants in America.

“Because the older generation of people had a different view on the independence of Ukraine. Those who came from the Soviet Union had to develop a trust in new immigrants,” Megits said. 

While the festival changed many times, one of the biggest changes was in 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. The Russia-Ukraine war is one of the biggest conflicts in Europe since World War II. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that 286 civilians have been killed and 1,388 injured this July.

Korchak said the Ukrainian Festival became a way for Ukrainian Americans here to help people in their home country after the war started. 

Now, the festival raises money for the Protez Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps Ukrainian soldiers and citizens receive prosthetics, and Stand with Ukraine, a non-profit organization that sends medical supplies to hospitals in the country.

“Even as much sadness each one of us has in our hearts, because a lot of family members of our people are still back home in Ukraine,” Korchak said. “The festival is one of our ways to express how strong we are.”

Even with the heavier tone of the celebration, Korchak said the war caused more people to attend the festival. He added that he is glad the younger generation is getting involved.

For Sophia Milinchuk, a Ukrainian American student at the University, the festival gives her a sense of belonging. 

Milinchuk said she was distraught when Russia invaded, because many of her family members were still in Ukraine. She added that while most of her family was able to leave, it was still hard for her to hear about the war.

“I think definitely it comes with a heavier heart, celebrating anything is harder when your home country is at war,” Milinchuk said.

Milinchuk, the president of the University’s Minnesota Ukrainian American Student Association, will be participating in the festival. She will be selling bracelets and volunteering at the Ukrainian American Community Center with ticket and food sales.

Megits, who originally moved with his wife and three children one year before the Soviet Union officially dissolved, said the festival is more important now than ever and serves as a form of resistance. 

“The more impressions coming from Russia, the more resilience comes from Ukraine,” Megits said. “We will be celebrating, and even much stronger, and we will be showing our culture even on a higher level, in a higher capacity, with a more strong voice.”

After back-and-forth between the U.S. government, Ukraine and Russia, it is unclear when and if an official peace deal will be made. Ukraine-Russia peace talks appear to be faltering, according to CNN.

Milinchuk said even if a ceasefire is uncertain, she would continue to attend the Ukrainian Festival.

“It honestly fills me with pride when I go to the Ukrainian community. I see how many people come out, how many people come out and support,” Milinchuk said. “And I think during this time, it’s especially important because I think a lot of the time, the best way to fight oppression, aggression is through art, through culture.”