Ukrainian refugee group holds cultural festival

A Ukrainian refugee group has praised the "kind and welcoming" people of Keighley as they prepare for a cultural festival, four years after Russia's full-scale invasion.

The third annual Ukrainian Cultural Festival will take place at Airedale Shopping Centre on Saturday afternoon, and includes live music, traditional food, a market and craft workshops.

Organiser Olga Zhydetska said she moved to the town as a refugee four years ago and had been made to feel "very welcome".

"I was really impressed that people from a country who might never of heard of Ukraine before the war, they were so welcoming, so kind to us, and I think the people of this area are the best.

"They are so kind, they have so much empathy and that's why we feel really welcome and we love this area of the country," she said.

The festival will include performances from the Dibrova Male Choir as well as a range of creative workshops, including petrykivka and pysanky painting.

Pysanky is a way of decorating Easter eggs using a traditional wax-resist technique, while petrykivka is a style of floral painting.

"Petrykivka was created in central Ukraine 200 years ago and it's beautiful floral painting in a very interesting style," explained Zhydetska.

"It's very easy and all the artists use natural dyes and handmade cat-hair brushes. I cannot promise you will use the natural dyes but cat-hair brushes will be presented and you can try them at our traditional workshops."

Zhydetska and her family and friends started the festival to build community bridges and celebrate their home country. She said Bradford had a long history with Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian community has very strong roots because after World War Two the first batch of Ukrainian refugees came and the biggest Ukrainian community in Europe was in Bradford and Keighley.

"We feel like we have to tell people who we are, what we can do, what our culture is like – it's very important to share.

"Culture is a real bridge that we can build across the communities and suddenly you realise you have much more in common than you ever thought," she said.

The team behind the festival will also serve traditional dumplings, called varenyky, and homemade pastries.

All funds raised will go towards supporting Ukraine and people affected by the war, the organisation said.

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