ESTEVAN - Estevan residents will be treated to a celebration of Ukrainian culture on May 7, thanks to a performance by the Poltava Ensemble of Song, Music and Dance.
The performance will be at the Estevan Comprehensive School, starting at 2 p.m., and it’s a special concert through the Estevan Arts Council.
Tickets are $25 each for those who are season pass holders for the Estevan Arts Council. This is a special attraction concert and not included in a subscription, but the ticket costs the same as their other concerts.
For those who don’t have a season ticket, the tickets are $35 each and can be purchased in advance at Henders Drugs. Or they can be had for $40 at the door.
Those who want to attend the concert can also contact the EAC office.
EAC president Wilma Mantei said they had booked the six performances through the Estevan Concert Series when the opportunity arose to have Poltava in Estevan, so they decided to make it an added attraction.
Poltava will bring its 50-member group to Estevan.
She noted Potava has been here twice in the past 15 years, but it’s likely been nearly a decade since the group’s last visit.
“We have a lot of newcomers coming to Estevan [from Ukraine] and I think this would be something that they would like to see. It’s their culture. I’m hoping that it makes them feel welcome because we’re sharing some of … their culture with them to the community,” said Mantei.
People enjoyed watching the ensemble when it was in Estevan in the past. She recalls watching Poltava during a previous concert.
“It was amazing. It was beautiful with all of their costumes and everything.”
In addition to the talented dancers who will be on stage, Poltava has an orchestra with about 24 talented performers who play the songs from Ukraine.
“That alone always sounds good to hear an orchestra like that, but the dancing is amazing. I’ve seen them on TV when they do special events … and they’re amazing. But when you see a whole group of them [it’s even better].”
She would like to have the Estevan Sunflower Network – which has been working to bring Ukrainians to Estevan and other Saskatchewan communities – involved with the concert as well so that the network can raise funds for its ongoing efforts.
Mantei believes this is the first time the arts council has held a concert at the Estevan Comprehensive School since the first of the COVID-19 restrictions came into effect nearly three years ago, and so they are ready to have something big again.
