Nasha Kasha

This is the final episode of Nasha Kasha.  The program began with and interview about Russia's invasion of Crimea.  Today, I sign off with Russia again invading Ukraine.  The program explores what it means to be Ukrainian for our listeners.  Thank you to all of our 18 radio stations for hosting this journalist's work over the past six years.  Stay well and good and wise everyone.         

  I'd like to give you a glimpse of the stumbles, lessons and joys I've experienced presenting stories.  This is my notebook, and it is my second to last show.

 I plan to present two more shows after this episode, as we are approaching our final Nasha Kasha.  Having reported almost 300 stories about Ukrainian life, I want to share one that I have grown up with. Actually, I'm in it at the end.  It is no more remarkable than yours' I am sure. Still it gives me a sense of completion, and in words and music, I do hope that you enjoy it. Dedicated to those who came before us.

When Nasha Kasha first aired in the spring of 2016, Crimea already had been occupied by Russia for two years. Also a Russian supported proxy army was wreaking havoc in Eastern Ukraine.  Six years later, the spectre of an all out war looms.

Both are educators, both were school principals.  He at St Andrew's College at the University of Manitoba.  She at a Winnipeg inner city school.  The Yereniuks exemplify community service and family bonds.  And I am pleased to feature them on Nasha Kasha this week.

28 little stories in 28 minutes.  That is this week's assignment at Nasha Kasha- a Ukrainian Almanac.  And it's all about the music we've played over the past six years.  .

Neighbourhood roads, the traffic signs and lights we obey; housing, economic and community development; parks, fire and police services. All are up to local government to manage.  Today, Nasha Kasha meets a man, who helps many municipalities make sense of it all.

 Doug Sulipa is among the 3 top comic book sellers in Canada. He operates his business from a rural Manitoba town of 16,000. His advice to any would-be collectors? Buy what you yourself would enjoy reading.  He advises- pursue life, love and once in a while, be prepared to "marvel".  

One Winnipeg choir took the name of an ancient instrument.  Another the name of an accomplished composer and choral conductor.  As 2022 opens, Nasha Kasha brings us the story of Ukrainian Christmas with two choruses, who give it voice. 

This week, with best wishes for the holidays, we present Nasha Kasha's Christmas week story:  Baba's House.

Plagiarism, denial, even murder.  Our Nasha Kasha story begins with bells, and it concludes with one of the world's most endearing Christmas carols.

Norilsk, Russia, north of the Arctic Circle holds the largest known nickel, copper ad palladium reserves in the world.  It is also one of earth's biggest polluters.  Norilsk was built by forced labour, through bouts of starvation and an ever-present intense cold.  Still for one Montreal singer-songwriter, it is still home.  

Boo!  That is what Covid 19 blurted at us in 2020 and 2021.  We responded to that scare with science, innovation and original survival schemes.  This week, Nasha Kasha presents the ghost kitchen, a way to re-imagine how a restaurant cooks, serves and delivers.

The pandemic has opened new ways to think and act.  This week Nasha Kasha introduces St Vlad's and two women who helped that Toronto institution resist complacency.

A trip to Ukraine in the late 1970s followed by an internship there launched Alexis Kochan on a journey through the ancient music of her ancestors.   She would fashion a career reinterpreting these songs and fragments.  This week Nasha Kasha presents Alexis Kochan, her story and her music.

In the 1930's Joseph Stalin used hunger to starve the Ukrainian nation.  That killing of millions has come to be called the Holodomor.  But if you look for the word in an English language dictionary you won't find it.

 Yura is a war survivor, a school yard scrapper, a lover of Ukrainian song, a dentist and an academic.  Along the way he made a big impression on one young would-be journalist.  And this is where our story begins.  

Every November we pause to reflect on courage, sacrifice and belonging, as we approach Remembrance Week 2021.  This year, we also have an opportunity to consider the place of Ukrainian Canadians and a film about the times. 

Last year Hockey Manitoba surveyed the top reasons to play the game.  There's the fun, the fitness.  It is a confidence builder, develops skills, helps make friends. Hockey is a community. The game is competitive, it releases stress, and there are travel opportunities.  Finally, hockey opens doors.  Only a fraction of those who play realize big dreams.  But with every practice, you can help someone realize themselves. 

A morning stroll. Meeting a stranger. An invitation to chat.  A hidden story surfaces, and it tumbles forth. Welcome to this week's episode of Nasha Kasha.

Does food taste better when the waiter slams your plate down in front of you?  Does a bit of attitude spice up your meal?  If it does, you would have loved, loved Pat's Lunch- back in the glory days of the Winnipeg's Exchange District. Step inside. The coffee's on.

On the last day in September Canadians face forward to offer respect and prayers as they reflect on one of the darkest periods in Canadian history.  

Canada's federal election is behind us, and Nasha Kasha goes in search of silver linings and meaning, while taking in Toronto's Annual Ukrainian Festival.

During the First World War, Ukrainian Canadians and others from Eastern Europe were labelled enemy aliens and robbed of their freedom.  Canada's first national internment was brought about by the War Measures Act and didn't end until well after that War. 

University students are back on campuses across Canada.  In Ottawa, a recent graduate and a final year student speak about their respective scholarly, community and personal pursuits.

 It is a love story that started long ago and continues today. September 1st, Irena Pavliw turned ninety.  In this week's episode of Nasha Kasha, the author and educator recalls love in a time of uncertainty, survival and recovery.

When marchers set out on their 500 kilometer trek from Sudbury to Parliament Hill, organizers blessed their efforts to bring attention the victims of residential schools.  The name they chose was Blinding Light Tiger Lilly.  Like reconciliation with our First Nations, the lily stands atop a tall strong stem.  Petals are complex and multi layered.  And they take years to flower.

Nasha Kasha is back on the road.  With masks and social distancing at the ready, we present a long overdue visit to catch up.

Taras Shevchenko is a poet who modeled language retention, free speech, courage and grace in the face of oppression. Today his spirit and example quietly inform anyone who will take the time to notice.  This report is from Quebec City.

Pets provide nonjudgmental emotional support.  Studies show that contact with pets reduces stress, and that animals help older adults cope with social isolation—  Here is Nasha Kasha's all cat show. Some of these stories may conflict with the data, but each has a happy endings.

2021 is the 150th anniversary year of Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka.  Her significance for Ukraine and for Europe is this week's story on Nasha Kasha.

This week, Nasha Kasha revisits North Winnipeg, and we learn about its history and evolution from a long time resident and film-maker.

 Ricky Skaggs plays one in Mandolin Rain.  Rod Stewart's mega hit Maggie May closes with one.  R.E.M featured one in the song Losing My Religion.  Today, Nasha Kasha salutes the mandolin.  Companion, music tool, sad song tremolo.

Halifax broadcaster, author and politician Richard Zurawski was very close to his father. But for much of his life Richard knew only a fraction of his father's story.

He is called the father of multiculturalism.  Senator Paul Yuzyk died July 9th, 1986.  As we approach the 35th anniversry of his passing Nasha Kasha acknowledges Yuzyk's legacy. 

A rushnychok is an embroidered cloth: a memento haded down through generations.  Here is the story of a band that wove their songs and music through that embroidery for more than a decade. 

Marten Falls First Nation is an Anishinaabe reserve located in Northern Ontario.  It's communities live on both sides of the Albany River far to the north of Thunder Bay.  This week Nasha Kasha brings us their story.  First we'll hear from Canada's top First Nations leader.

Nasha Kasha visits Sarnia to reprise and to update the story of a church congregation, like so many, on the margins of viability.  

To come to live permanently in a country other than one’s native land is to immigrate.  What the Oxford Canadian Dictionary doesn’t mention are the hardships.  

 As the worldwide pandemic forces us to press "paws" on community life and to stay close to home, it does enhance our appreciation for our homes and the pets in them.  Among these is one particular species, many consider to be- the cat’s meow.

It is rare. Only a few hear it. Fewer still answer. This week, Nasha Kasha chronicles the last three years of one couple, who followed their calling into Ukrainian life.   

Mark and Marichka Marczyk have earned two Dora Awards, an Edinburgh Fringe First Award, and an Amnesty International Freedom of Speech Award.  Today on Nasha Kasha, they speak of their music and meeting at an intersection in Ukrainian history.

Today Nasha Kasha introduces two life-long musicians, who also thrive at their day side construction jobs.  And we will learn how music sustains them, particularly during this pandemic.

For the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, Nasha Kasha offers recollections, analysis and a prayer.

Ukrainians in PEI maintain their roots pretty much on their own.  The population is tiny and still they thrive on the Island that is Canada's smallest province.  

Friends, family and music.  They are all elements of a beautiful dance called life.  This is true, even if the dancing has to be done at a distance.  

Summer Festival organizers and performers are itching to welcome attendees back, and they hope at least part of the 2021 season can be salvaged.  As we all await post pandemic freedom, here’s a look back at a British Columbia favourite.

This week Nasha Kasha explores fusion and harmony in Ukrainian music.  We begin with a project that blends reggae with Ukraine’s iconic instrument: the bandura.

Similarities abound between Ukraine and Ireland.  We are about to discover that the two may be closer than you think.

Russia has occupied the Crimean peninsula, a part of Ukraine, for more than seven years. Today, Nasha Kasha explores the bonds between Tatars and Ukrainians.  And how both peoples again and again must grapple with an expansionist Russia.

Thursday, February 25th 2021 is the 150th birthday of Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka. Her significance for Ukraine and for Europe is this week’s story on Nasha Kasha.