Dear Ukrainian Community and Friends of Ukraine!

Thanks to Dr. Richard Kurin and US Congress, the US Embassy in Ukraine, the Smithsonian Institution in partnership with the Maidan Museum brings to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival Mall the Ukrainian special program “De Libertate: Songs of Freedom and Hope from Ukraine”.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukraine’s Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova have been invited to make remarks. The concert will be streamed live worldwide, and a U.S., State Department film crew will develop a television program that will then be broadcast in Ukraine.

Brief information on July 4 events that may be of interest to you and your family members:

11:00 am - US Independence Day parade. There will be a Ukrainian column and a float, on which the band Probass & Hardi will perform the hits "Good Evening, we are from Ukraine" and "Chervona Kalyna".

2:00 p.m. - at the end of the parade, the “De Libertate: Songs of Freedom and Hope from Ukraine” concert will be held on the National Mall (opposite The Castle) as part of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Among the performers are Mariya Kvitka (winner of the "Voice of Ukraine-2022" show), the "Bozhychi" band, singer Katya Chilly and the "Pike-fish" band.

More about the concert: De Libertate: Sounds of Freedom and Hope from Ukraine, Tuesday, July 4, 2023, 2:30 - 4 p.m. EDT - Festival Schedule | Smithsonian Folklife Festival (si.edu)

Within the Smithsonian Festival there will be a foodways program where we will demonstrate Ukrainian traditional food cooking (July 6-7), a master class on Ukrainian traditional dancing (July 8), and a discussion of cultural heritage protection in times of crisis (July 7).

It will be great to meet you on the National Mall and welcome you to our Ukrainian program, paying tribute to your considerable support in protecting the Ukrainian nation's identity.

Look forward to seeing you on the 4th of July in D.C,

Ihor Poshyvailo,

PhD, co-founder of the Heritage Emergency Response Initiative (HERI)
Director General of the National Memorial and the Revolution of Dignity Museum (Maidan Museum)
9 Lavrska St., Build. 20, Kyiv, 01015, Ukraine
https://www.facebook.com/Heritage-Emergency-Response-Initiative-109558158344811/
www.maidanmuseum.org