See how this unique event blends culture, resilience, and lifesaving aid …
Adults and children, some in traditional Ukrainian dress, explore the Ukrainian Day Festival village in Westmoreland Park.
Story and photos by David F. Ashton
Under sunny late-summer skies, Southeast Portland’s Westmoreland Park turned into a colorful village of tents, food stands, and music on August 22, as the Ukrainian Foundation hosted its annual Ukrainian Day Festival just south of the historic Casting Pond.
Long rows of vendor booths, a large and well-equipped stage, and the aromas of traditional Ukrainian dishes created a lively setting for a festival that organizers described as equal parts celebration, education, and life-saving mission.
The organization’s President, Yuri Boyechko, tells the background of the Ukrainian Day Festival.
Marking independence with culture and community
Ukrainian Foundation President Yuri Boyechko explained that the festival revolves around Ukraine’s national Independence Day holiday.
“Many reasons,” Boyechko replied when asked why this event is important. “Number one reason, we celebrate the independence of Ukraine, which is August 24. So we try to have this festival, as much as we can, close to this day.”
Beyond the date on the calendar, Boyechko emphasized that the gathering helps people understand Ukraine, and its people, through direct experience.
Leaping as they perform, dancers from the Ukrainian folk group Veselka (Веселка) entertain Ukrainian Day Festival visitors.
“We want to show our culture and who we are, because right now people talk about Ukraine,” he observed. “It’s better to see and feel who we are,” he told East Portland News. “So, everyone, everyone, is invited to come.”
An outdoor cultural classroom
Throughout the day, families strolled past booths offering crafts and information, while others lined up for plates of traditional Ukrainian fare.
Children and adults alike paused near the stage to watch and listen as performers shared music and dance that’s rooted in Ukrainian tradition, turning the park into an outdoor cultural classroom.
During the festival, Natalii and Ary from Sunny Yummy Bakery offer traditional Ukrainian pastries to visitors.
Here’s what 100 liters of traditional Ukrainian red borscht – a vibrant, hearty soup with rich meat broth, bright red beets, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic – looks like, as it cooks for Ukrainian Day Festival guests.
At this year’s Ukrainian Day Festival, Greg Petrosyan of Kabob City Grill stands with crossed skewers loaded with barbecued meat.
Fundraising with a specific purpose
While the festival indeed felt festive, organizers kept a sharp focus on their mission to provide practical help for their people still living through war.
“All money that we raise here is goes to buy tourniquets and medical supplies, and send them to Ukraine,” Boyechko explained. “We spend the money here at local businesses; and, we mostly buy tourniquets, because that is what save lives.”
That approach, he said, supports both local merchants and front-line medics overseas, translating each sale at the festival into tangible equipment rather than cash transfers.
At the Ukrainian Day Festival in Westmoreland Park, it’s the Karpan family at the photo booth.
From community gathering to public showcase
The festival has a long history in Portland’s Ukrainian community. Boyechko recalled how it grew from a modest gathering into a public celebration aimed at a much broader audience.
“We’ve been doing this since 2006,” he reflected. “We want to celebrate our culture. We want to show our culture. In the beginning, it was less: It just let people from Ukraine get together.”
Vendors sell all kinds of merchandise from, or inspired by, Ukraine – at the Ukrainian Day Festival in Westmoreland Park.
Over time, organizers realized the festival could serve to present Ukrainian resilience and identity to the wider public. “When we learned that we can present something, something so nice [that is] our culture, our strength, it is good,” Boyechko continued.
Selling her merchandise at the Ukrainian Day Festival is Tatiana Markova from San Jose, California.
As the Ukrainian Foundation looks ahead to future Ukrainian Day festivals, organizers plan to keep blending food, music, and culture with a clear message about who Ukrainians are and provide a concrete way for Portland neighbors to help save lives far from Westmoreland Park.
You can still donate to the lifesaving efforts of Portland-based Ukrainian Foundation by visiting their website: CLICK HERE.
© 2026 David F. Ashton ~ East Portland News™
