Calgary Ukrainian Festival welcomes in thousands

Ukrainian Festival opens arms to new Calgarians The Ukrainian Festival opened its arms to some of the 14,000 new Calgarians who have moved here from Ukraine in the past year.

Thousands of people are spending the weekend soaking up Ukrainian culture and welcoming new Canadians to the city.

The Calgary Ukrainian Festival is running on Saturday and Sunday at the Acadia Recreation Complex in the southeast.

The goal of the event is to provide Calgarians -- some new and others not so new -- with colourful memories of traditional Ukrainian activities.

"The festival is the culmination of the Ukrainian community in Calgary coming together to share the amazing culture and heritage of being Ukrainian," organizer Jordan Biss said. "We've got lots of food, live performances of singers, dancers and artists, a marketplace."

Organizers encourage all Calgarians to visit. While most on sight do have some Ukrainian heritage, Biss says the weekend is a great time for others to take part in and learn about the country's rich culture.

"And for the 14,000 Ukrainians that have recently arrived in Calgary on CUAET visas, having something like this is remarkably important," he said. "Not only as a little taste of home, but also for the networking opportunities and opportunities to immerse your children in the community and make new friends."

The festival runs until late night Saturday and then again from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, visit the event's website.