This year, the celebrations around the country were more cohesive. I remember the first event I put together, it was almost a one man show. I even wanted to involve some hivers living in the Netherlands. I had no team, no support, just grinding myself to make an event come to life that'd, even for a few minutes, bring a smile and home-vibes to the distraught.
That first event put me in the center of a large circle that we would grow together. Thus, the first community of its kind was born. I'm still always invited to the community activities, but I try to choose and pick based on the impact and intentions.
If the community is the priority, then I'm there. If there's some other intention, then you're not getting the starboy.
The first event is recorded forever on hive through my post. It was almost 2 years back. Since then, the community has grown and the efforts of empowering the people has grown too.
This year, based on many standards I've helped the municipality create, the celebrations were nationwide, not just city-wide. In regular fashion, I decided to remain and celebrate within the city I've always been rather than the bigger one like in the Hague or Amsterdam.
This year's celebrations mark the largest of its kind. Not only are the celebrations managed from one central body for the entire country, but the events are the longest they've ever been. We started at roughly 2 in the afternoon all the way to 10 at night.
We've tried to include as many replicable events in every venue so that the experience can be as close to same no matter which city you're celebrating in.
Over 2000 vareniki were made during the event. Visitors could register and participate in molding the vareniki and two volunteers spent the evening cooking them. This would then be distributed to the registered visitors. We had both potato and meat dumplings.
We also partnered with an ice cream company that has been hiring a lot of Ukrainians since the start of the influx of Ukrainians in the city. They were more than happy to give away ice cream to visitors.
For children, we had the popular painting activity as well as a bouncy house. This is the first time we could put a bouncy house in the event, and given its success we could do it in other events. I worked plenty on the safety and health aspect of things that contain huge risks, one of them being this bouncy house.
Apart from the dumplings, we distributed typical Ukrainian dishes like my favourite sirniki and sala. Food is one thing that immediately takes you back home. So I keep a stern focus on having a few dishes from home.
As always, there was constant Ukrainian music by the dj you all know. You've seen him in all my posts. I push for him at every event. I know how hard it is to be a niche in a new country, so I try my best to showcase him. He is now a success story and is always happy to help, even if he has a paid gig somewhere else.
Other activities included quizzes with prizes, animation shows, a film show at the evening, and an artistic piece.
The concept is to put flowers on the map of Ukraine and Netherlands, based on where you're from and where do you stay now.
If you notice, there are very few flowers on the eastern side of Ukraine. That's because it is incredibly hard for the easterners to leave Ukraine, even if they are under the hardest circumstances. It is a giant wake up call to many. Kharkiv and neighbouring cities need help, a lot of help. And the people have it harder than everyone else to even leave....
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