Nothing can undo the loss of Olga Dame’s brother and two nephews, who number among many who’ve died in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
But the retired medical interpreter said she’s trying to do her part to help others still on the frontlines.
On Saturday, that meant a seemingly small act, selling homemade cookies and sourdough bread, to attendees of the third Ukrainian Winterfest – a festival started in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Half the proceeds will go to festival organizers to buy supplies for Ukrainians, Dame said.
“We do everything that we can to help them, and this event is just to help even more,” she said. “Kind of to give more.”
More than 100 people, many of them in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, milled through Portland’s Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Attendees and vendors spoke at booths that displayed all kinds of wares, from traditional clothing to handmade dolls.
Event organizer Yulia Brockdorf said the point of the Ukrainian Winterfest is to bring joy during the holidays, a bedrock of the culture.
At the same time, she said, part of the event is to raise awareness about the experiences of Ukrainians, as well as to raise money to send medical supplies and aid missions to the war-torn country.
“We are honoring and bringing to life that which Ukrainian defenders are currently fighting for, dying for and defending Ukraine,” Brockdorf said.
Several displays conveyed different aspects of the war. One booth contained tables covered in shrapnel, explosive-torn shoes, battlefield helmets, a demo model of a modified drone that Ukrainian soldiers would have used to send explosives careening into Russian soldiers. Another table displayed a cache of emergency medical supplies that donations would help buy.
Musicians livened up the stage with performances that stretched through the day.
Flutist Amelia Lucas said she was born and raised in the United States, but music has helped her connect with her Ukrainian heritage and raise awareness about the war.
“Music is such a powerful way to open up our hearts and kind of feel through all the difficult emotions around, you know, really troubling world events like this,” she said. “It’s a great way to bring the community together and express some of what’s going on collectively.”
Elsewhere, virtual reality goggles gave users an up-close view of the destruction Russian attacks had caused in civilian zones across Ukraine.
“I’ve never done it before,” said one attendee as Mykola Omelchenko helped him strap into a virtual reality headset. Moments later, Omelchenko activated the headset and the visitor’s field of view filled with 360-degree footage of Ukraine before and after the 2022 invasion.
Omelchenko — who said he was in Kyiv when Russian forces bombarded the city in 2022 as troops invaded the country — is no stranger to helping people view the extensive archive of footage that he and his collaborators collected. Their collective efforts have resulted in the VR Museum of War, a traveling pop-up exhibition that aims to educate people across the world on the brutal realities that Ukrainian citizens face after years of Russian advances.
“A lot of people, not even today, cannot comprehend the mass of the destruction of the country,” Omelchenko said. “They think (from) far away, not feeling it, not knowing.”
©2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit oregonlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
