Participation in the Intercultural Christmas Craft Fair was an opportunity for us to showcase Ukrainian traditions, as well as to receive funding to finance our other projects.

Why?	Showcase of Ukrainian culture
What?	Intercultural Christmas Craft Fair
Who?	Organizer: Creative Forum Bamberg
Where?	Johanniskapelle am Oberen Stephansberg, Bamberg
When?	Weekend of the 3rd Advent 2014-2019

Every year in Bamberg, artisans from different communities gather at the Christmas fair to present their crafts and spark curiosity about the customs and traditions of their home country. We have participated in this event as a Ukrainian community for several years in a row.

In the kitchen, we cooked borscht, steamed dumplings, and stewed cabbage rolls. We treated the bravest visitors at the fair to Lviv liqueurs and sandwiches with lard, and for dessert we served delicious pies.

In another hall, we organized various activities for children. Together with the children, we created Christmas cards from paper and decorations from shiny beads. We also sold interesting products from Ukrainian craftsmen and women, such as necklaces, toys, and bookmarks. We also had monastic herbal blends and mint syrups, which are reputed to drive away any disease.

The culmination of this showcase of Ukrainian culture was the performance of Ukrainian artists whom we invited to visit Bamberg in advance of the fair. We were visited by Khoreya Kozatska (a band that performs songs of the Ukrainian Middle Ages, baroque and romanticism) and the sand fairy Oksana Mergut with a fairy tale about the Snow Queen. A highlight was the beautiful Marina Krut, who touched the heartstrings of every listener with her singing and the sound of her bandura, an Ukrainian folk instrument.

This event always required a lot of advance preparation. The day before, the team made several thousand dumplings and at the end of the fair we were very happy with the money collected to finance our educational and cultural projects to support Ukraine.