The Kule Folklore Centre is pleased to announce our upcoming events for Fall 2025 Term.
All are welcome; please find details below.
September
Ukrainian witchcraft trials in the 17th–18th centuries
Folklore Lecture by: Kateryna Dysa – PhD and Associate Professor in the History Department of the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy"
September 19, 2025 | 10 a.m. MT
Were there really witchcraft trials in 17th- and 18th-century Ukraine? What kinds of legal systems and religious factors enabled them? How did witchcraft accusations occur, and what was the typical social and gender standing of accusers and accused? Which issues generated the conflicts that led to such accusations? These questions and more will be addressed by Professor Dysa during her lunchtime talk.
ZOOM (Online-only presentation)
October
It Takes Three To Tango
A conversation with: Natalka Husar, internationally acclaimed Canadian artist
October 3, 2025 | 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. MT | Art Gallery of Alberta, 2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB T5J 2C1
Join us on the special evening of October 3rd for a conversation with Natalka Husar for "IT TAKES THREE TO TANGO: The true story of a fictitious romance in the correspondence of Ivan Ostafiichuk and Natalka Husar." Meet Natalka Husar, an internationally acclaimed Canadian artist, and hear the story in person. Learn the perspective of scholars who study Ukraine and KGB surveillance. Read the newly published book containing Ivan’s letters.
(In-person presentation)
International Perogy Day
Workshop by: Joyce Sirski-Howell
October 8, 2025 | 2pm to 4:30pm MT | St. Joseph's College, Newman Centre, U of A
Price: $10+GST per person; all equipment for perogy making will be provided
What is a better way to celebrate International Perogy Day? Join us for a perogy-making workshop led by our beloved Joyce Sirski-Howell!
(In-person workshop)
Heritage on the Table: Food and Ukrainian Identity
Folklore Lecture by: Yevhen Klopotenko – a Ukrainian chef, restaurateur and social activist.
October 17, 2025 | 10 a.m. MT | ZOOM (Online-only presentation)
Food isn’t just about eating. It’s about who we are. Borshch, beet kvass, shpundra or teteria — each dish tells more about Ukraine than any textbook. Food is our language, our song, our identity. And as long as we keep it close, we know exactly who we are.
ZOOM (Online-only presentation)
November
A photographic Prairie trilogy: collective Identity, personal memory and arriving at the Ukrainian-Canadian Homeplace
Folklore Lecture by: Kyler Zeleny – Phd, photographer, educator, and author
November 7, 2025 | 6 p.m. MT | Kaffa Roastery & Studio, 10920 88 Ave NW, Edmonton AB
Photographer, educator, and writer Kyler Zeleny traces a decade-long exploration of the Canadian Prairies through his trilogy—Out West (2014), Crown Ditch & The Prairie Castle (2020), and the culminating Bury Me in the Back Forty (2025). Centering on his hometown of Mundare, Alberta—a Ukrainian-settler community in transition—the talk considers how photographs and interwoven texts can honor complexity without nostalgia or caricature on the Canadian Prairies.
With a special focus on Bury Me in the Back Forty, Zeleny foregrounds themes of deviance and conformity, joy and tragedy, and the ethics of representing one’s own “homeplace.” He reflects on how Ukrainian prairie identities are negotiated across generations—what is carried forward, what is let go—and how belonging is inscribed in everyday life and landscape. Drawing from stories behind specific images and sequences across all three books, Zeleny offers a nuanced view of contemporary prairie life and the small-town futures being imagined in real time.
(In person lecture)
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December
Ukrainian Winter Celebrations: Who Brings Presents to Ukrainian Children?
Folklore Lecture by: Daria Antsybor, Research fellow at the State Scientific Center for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Against Man-Made Disasters in Kyiv, Ukraine.
December 12, 2025 | 10 a.m. MT | ZOOM (Online-only presentation)
This lecture will explore the transformation of winter holiday traditions in Ukraine. It will trace the roles of magical gift-givers such as St. Nicholas (Mykolai) and Grandfather Frost (Did Moroz), examining their origins, the impact of the Soviet era, and their use as political symbols. In the context of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the talk will also reflect on how Ukrainian society is re-evaluating these figures in its pursuit of cultural decolonization and authentic expression.
ZOOM (Online-only presentation)
Christmas Carol Sing-a-long
Workshop by: Olga Zaitseva-Herz
December 13, 2025 | 1-3 p.m. MT | Strathcona Community League Hall, 10139 87 Avenue NW Edmonton, AB
A family-friendly sing-a-long event led by Olga Zaitseva-Herz. Come join us for this festive event and sing-along to popular Ukrainian Christmas Carols.
Ukrainian-Canadian pastries will be served.
(In-person workshop)
RSVP by December 9th
REGISTRATION SOON