MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The Ukrainian Village Band has been a staple in the Twin Cities for nearly 15 years.
Stefan Iwaskewycz remembers a community organizer requesting he put together a group to perform at a local Ukrainian heritage festival back in August 2007.
Iwaskewycz, a percussionist, pulled together three other musicians for the event. Shortly after, the band played at St. Katherine Ukrainian Orthodox Church where he saw Oleksiy Khrystych leading the choir and playing accordion.
"Our accordion player at that time wasn't Ukrainian and didn't play the songs quite Ukrainian sounding to my ears... She was fine to be fired and Oleksiy joined right away," Iwaskewycz recalled.
The pair co-founded the Ukrainian Village Band. This August, they will be celebrating their 15th anniversary.
"We are part of the Ukrainian community here. The Ukrainian community has been building here for over 100 years with several waves of immigration. Obviously right now — especially now — it's a very hard time for Ukraine," said Khrystych, who still has family, including his parents, living in Ukraine.
Besides Iwaskewycz and Khrystych, the band includes Viktoriya Kantor (vocals), Ivas Bryn (bass), Lev Frayman (guitar) and Emily Judge-Becker (violin, vocals).
They perform at all kinds of parties and celebrations but when Russia invaded Ukraine in February, they took a break.
"There's a thing about religious culture in Ukraine that you don't party, you don't celebrate... when someone has died or passed away," Iwaskewycz explained.
But as time went on, the band was receiving requests to perform from outside the Ukrainian American community.
"I think for a lot of people when they think about connecting with another culture, they think about connecting with the music and the food," Iwaskewycz said.
The Ukrainian Village Band decided to start playing again but with a new focus on fundraising for their homeland. So far, they have raised more than $50,000 to support Ukraine during the war.
"We need to be united; we need to spread peace and joy and culture, Ukrainian culture. It keeps us together, keeps us alive, and keeps us remembering our roots," Khrystych said.
Last Thursday, the band played at Boom Island Park for Vyshyvanka Day — celebrated on the third Thursday in May as a way to preserve the folk traditions of wearing Ukrainian traditional embroidered shirts.
They used it as an opportunity to raise awareness about the need for bullet proof vests in Ukraine.
"Music creates community. Whether it's a time of war or a time of peace and that's what we're finding," Iwaskewycz said. "Through our music I feel like we're building the Ukrainian community and its connections to other communities much wider than it ever has been before."
The Ukrainian Village Band has several upcoming shows.
Thursday, June 2: The Cedar Cultural Center at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 4: Fulton Brewing Taproom 7-10 p.m.
You can find information on all their events on the Ukrainian Village Band's Facebook page.
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