Hromada Festival in Lviv – Opening Ceremony (Kashtan in Ukraine: Part 3)

Thirty years ago today . . .

The Opening Ceremony of the “Hromada” Festival took place on July 28, 1990. Prior to the start of the ceremony, Kashtan marched in a Parade of Nations through the streets of Lviv. This is when our dancers finally met other dance groups from around the world, including Chuplak from England, Vesna from France, and Lemkovyna from Poland. Each group marched into the Ukraina Stadium, in front of 50,000 people! After many standard ceremonial acts, such as the raising of the Ukrainian flag and the lighting of the festival torch, Kashtan performed its “Pryvit” for the very first time — what a thrill!

Fun fact: Our former artistic director David Woznak had spent the previous year in Ukraine studying Ukrainian folk dance with the Yunist Ensemble. During the opening ceremony, they invited him to perform “Hopak” with them! Can you spot him at 10:25?