Aug. 24: Birth of a nation
Ukraine celebrates its 19th birthday, but without a big bang.
A natiowide ban of lighting fireworks will stay in effect through the holiday, due to the risk of wildfires during the prolonged summer heat wave, Deputy Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Popov said.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet of Ministers recommended that Ukrainians work on Saturday, Aug. 21, in order to have Sunday, Aug. 22, through Tuesday, Aug. 24, as days off.
Independence Day celebrations on Maidan Nezalezhnosti on Aug. 24, 2009. (Yaroslav Debelyi)
Coinciding with Independence Day, the traditional “River of Embroidery” flower show will open on Aug. 21 and operate through Sept. 1 in Pechersk Field. Each Ukrainian region will showcase their flower arrangements during which a national costumes parade will march through the field.
And in Brussels, the European Association of Ukrainians, with the support of Volodymyr Yanchenko’s Slavic Foundation, will popularize Ukraine during independence Day.
Former holder of the title “world’s strongest man,” Vasyl Virastiuk, will dress the city’s largest tourist attraction – the Manneken Pis fountain statue – in Cossack garb.
The small bronze fountain sculpture, depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain’s basin, is a popular attraction. Ukrainian artist Tetyana Horiushyna will also present the Brussels municipal building with a water color painting of the urinating statue dressed in traditional Ukrainian clothing.
President returns to work
President Viktor Yanukovych on Aug. 16. (Mykhailo Markiv)
President Viktor Yanukovych’s 45-day vacation officially ends on Aug. 24. Spent mostly on the Crimean peninsula, Yanukovych combined work with pleasure as he held briefings with high-level government officials throughout his stay.
Yanukovych took a break from his schedule to lead an emergency Security Council meeting in Kyiv on Aug. 5 involving the wildfire situation.
Two days of Independence Day celebrations
A statue of the mythic Slavic goddess Berehynia protects Kyiv beside Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, where a two-day concert will take place during Independence Day celebrations Aug. 23-24. (Yaroslav Debelyi)
Aug. 21 at 9 a.m.: City youth track and field relay race, 21 Khreshchatyk St.
Aug. 21 at 10 a.m.: Opening of the 55th annual flower show in Pechersk Landscape Park.
Aug. 23 from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.: National flag-raising ceremony on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) with President Viktor Yanukovych and the leadership of the Kyiv City State Administration, followed by an awards ceremony.
Aug. 23-24 from noon to 10 p.m.: Concert on Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
Aug. 24 at 9 a.m.: Prayer for Ukraine at Holy-Dormition of the Kyiv Perchersk Lavra.
Aug. 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Cultural, artistic and sport events for children and youth (from Independence Square to Khmelnytskiy Street). Participants will be able to take part in drawing contests, poetry readings about Ukraine, take quizzes about the history of Ukraine and even play street mini-basketball.
Aug. 24 at 9:30 a.m.: Wreath-laying ceremony at Taras Shevchenko and Mykhailo Khrushevsky statues, with President Viktor Yanukovych and the leadership of the Kyiv City State Administration participating.
Aug. 24 at 10 a.m.: “Aerial Carnival” Ukrainian aero design festival on the outdoor stage of the Central Culture and Recreation Park.
Aug. 24 at 10 a.m.: City sailing regatta (starting in Obolon Bay along the Dnipro River).
Aug. 24 at noon: A collection of embroidered towels will be shown on Kontraktova Ploshcha. During the procession, brochures will be handed out containing a Kyiv code of behavior for Kyiv residents.
Two more holidays
Two professional holidays immediately follow Independence Day: Ukrainian Aviation Day on Aug. 25; and Miner’s Day on Aug. 26.
There are approximately 450,000 miners in Ukraine, the majority of whom are employed in the Donbas basin in eastern Ukraine. Coal remains the world’s as well as Ukraine’s largest source for generating electricity.
Since gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine’s coal production has dropped 43 percent and the sector’s 227 mines suffer from labor strikes, hazardous working conditions, inefficiency and low productivity, corruption, consumer non-payments, unpaid wages, huge debts and outmoded equipment.
| Notable events ahead: Sept. 1 – First School Bell; Knowledge Day |
