‘Masliana’, a welcome to spring

The local community and Ukrainian guests gathered at Shaftesbury Town Hall to celebrate the start of spring with the traditions of Masliana.

Viktoriia explains the traditions and current Ukrainian circumstances in a radio interview  on This is Alfred, from 21min 56sec.

https://thisisalfred.com/podcast/the-alfred-daily-26th-february-2025/

On a sunny day, our spirits were lifted by the friendships we have made and the continuing support for Ukraine given by local people.

The Town Hall was buzzing with visitors and ringing with song as Larysa, played, unplugged, a selection of familiar traditional Ukrainian songs to sing along with.

Larysa Sotnykova

There were hot drinks, home-made cakes and plenty of pancakes to eat, served with a variety of toppings, such as sour cream, honey, jam, and savoury fillings of chicken and mushrooms. All provided by local Ukrainian families.

There were opportunities to learn new crafting skills such as decorating eggs, Pysanka, the delicate skills of making painted eggs with hot wax and dye. This was new to some, but a skill to share for others, young and old.

A sale of hand made goods such as candles and dolls. Helped raise money to support people in Ukraine.

All took place in support of humanitarian causes and a total of £244 was raised by Ukrainian guests to send to hospitals for vital equipment.

Masliana was another valuable opportunity for Ukrainian and local people to gather and remind each other that the support locally has been excellent and will continue as long as it is needed and beyond. As Anna Uskova, one of the organisers said,

‘ In reality, what matters most is the opportunity to meet.’

Hear Anna, Igor and Iryna on This is Alfred from 4.36. https://thisisalfred.com/podcast/the-alfred-daily-3rd-march-2025/

Many thanks to Shaftesbury Council who provided the venue and raised the Ukrainian flag above the Town Hall in honour of the occasion. Without local support these events cannot happen.