An Incomplete History

Veselka was created in 1971. Its founding members were committed to ensuring that the art of Ukrainian Dance was kept alive in Victoria.

One of their first performance was in April of that year when they appeared at Timmy's Telethon. The following year Veselka made its first appearance at the Victoria Music Festival where they performed well enough to be included in the honors program.

Membership continued to increase and our dancers began to attend workshops. In the spring of 1973, dancers flew to Edmonton to take part in that city's Jubilee celebration. During the late 1970s the group came into its own and comprised of approximately 100 dancers and musicians. In 1978, the group developed a new repertoire with a more artistic focus.

In 1981, Veselka was incorporated under the Societies Act of BC.

The dancers performed at EXPO86 in Vancouver.

The Intermediate and Senior dancers traveled to Vegreville to compete in the Psyanka Festival. Along the way they performed in Kamloops.

In 1988, the Junior joined the Intermediate and Senior dancers in another trip to Vegreville. The Seniors were invited to San Jose, California to perform a the Rotary Exchange.

In 1990, nine of the Senior dancers performed in the opera Eugene Onegin. The dancers also returned to the Seattle Folklife Festival where they danced at a special Ukrainian Tribute at the Opera House. In August, the Senior boys set out for the National Ukrainian Festival in Dauphin< Manitoba.

The theme of the 1992 PNE in Vancouver was Ukrainian and our dancers were there performing for large appreciative audiences.

Veselka sponsored a week long seminar at Camp Thunderbird near Victoria. Twenty-four dancers had an opportunity to work with Serhij and Nina Koroliuk from Saskatoon.

The Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria in 1994 and Veselka's dancers spent many hours, along with other dancer groups, preparing for the Opening Ceremonies which were viewed by the Queen, Prince Philip and Canada's Prime Minister. In addition to preparing for the Opening Ceremonies, a group of dancers joined Cheremshyna for a trip to California where they performed in both San Diego and Disneyland.

A group of 18 dancers along with chaperones packed themselves along with their luggage and costumes into two vans and traveled to Vegreville to take part in the 1995 Pysanka Festival. In addition to three medals they brought home a lot of good memories. Planning for Veselka's 25th Anniversary started.

In May 1996 Veselka celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a performance at the the University of Victoria's University Center. A special choreographed story line was created for this performance. In addition to the choreography, 315 meters of new costuming, a wooden cart, boxes, buckets and swords were specially prepared.

1997 saw dancers return to Vegreville once again. As in previous trips, this one saw the dancers come home with some medals along with memories that will last forever.

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