'It's a high holiday': The Easter bazaar raising money for Ukrainian newcomers
Winnipeg's Ukrainian cultural centre hosted an Easter-themed sale this weekend to help people prepare for the upcoming holiday and teach English to Ukrainian newcomers.
Oseredok's Easter Bazaar took place at 184 Alexander Avenue E. Mar. 24 and 25. Customers browsed a special selection of candles, decorations, postcards, and Easter basket covers, among other things.
"We're trying to provide different kinds of merchandise that people can use during their Easter celebration," said Rozalia Rohalsky, Oseredok volunteer. "So everything you would put in your Easter basket - which you take to church to be blessed - we try to offer here."
The Bazaar sold out of its selection of babkas and paskas, Ukrainian Easter bread, but it also carried the baking forms used to make the bread at home.
A selection of locally-made pysanka were also available, as well as supplies to decorate the beautiful Ukrainian Easter eggs. "We do offer the dyes, and the wax and the kistka, which is the writing stylus," said Rohalsky.
Rohalsky said Easter is a very important holiday in Ukrainian culture. "It’s a high holiday in Ukraine, and we celebrate as Ukrainians in Canada."
All profits made from the Bazaar will go towards offering English language courses for Ukrainian newcomers who have fled the war with Russia. The classes are for beginners only, people who have very little or no understanding of English.
"It helps them start getting a little bit more comfortable and even being able to understand, never mind just speak," said Rohalsky.
She said the classes not only help newcomers learn about our language, but also our culture.
Rohalsky said the weekly classes are very much in demand, with a large waiting list. We're hoping that the more we can make as far as profits, we can then put towards having more English courses for the newcomers," she said.
She added Oseredok is always looking for volunteers to help. "It feels like family when you walk in here, with the people that are working, the volunteers that are here," Rohalsky said. "If (newcomers) have questions about anything, whether it be about jobs, churches, schools, we try to provide them that here as well."
More information can be found on the Oseredok website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.