The embassies of 41 countries will take part in the annual Charity Bazaar on Dec. 5 at Olympiyskiy Sports Complex in Kyiv. Each embassy will have a booth, selling souvenirs, traditional food, beverages, jewelry. All the earnings will be donated to the various charities. Last year, the Bazaar raised Hr 2.4 million.
The Kyiv Post asked the embassies what they prepared for the bazaar this
year.
The Georgian booth will have banners with the
country’s landscapes. Zurab
Topuriya, cultural attaché of the Embassy of Georgia in Ukraine, said that wine and cheeses were brought from
Georgia to be sold at the Bazaar. And of course, the visitors will be treated
to the traditional Georgian khachapuri, the cheese-filled bread.
The Embassy of Mexico plans to do its best to represent the culture of the country.
“Mexico is a land of bright colors so the installed specimens will
become a real festival of color,” Daniel Dominguez, Deputy Chief of Mission Embassy of Mexico says. “The
national Mexican cuisine – which, I want to remind, was listed as World
Heritage – will be represented.”
The staff of the embassy and Mexican
expats will be cooking the traditional food for the visitors.
The Embassy of Argentina has prepared well, too.
“We are
planning to exhibit everything we’re proud of in our country – from wines,
mate, and delicious foods, such as meaty empanadas, sweet cookies alfajores,
sweet potato marmalade, to handmade goods created by true Argentinean artisans
– knits, jewelry, home decor, and also numerous Christmas decorations, in the
spirit of the season,” says Lila Roldan Vazquez de Moine, the
H.E. the Ambassador of Argentina in Ukraine informs. “We are going to present
unique Argentinean goods that you wouldn’t be able to buy anywhere else in
Ukraine.”
She adds that one will be able to not just buy mate, but to receive
detailed instructions on how to brew it right.
Seven embassies will participate in the Charity Bazaar for the first
time. One of them is the Embassy of the Republic
of Sudan. They are planning to attract visitors with the souvenirs and
accessories made of python skin, herbal teas made of the herbs that grow in
Sudan, like hibiscus, jewelry. Traditional meals will also be served, such as
koffta (lamb cutlets), rice, hummus, salads with chickpeas, Sudanese coffee,
which is brewed according to an old recipe, tea with spices and milk.
But the main feature of the Sudanese presentation will be a
demonstration of the traditional wedding ceremony.
Canada will offer visitors elk milk, “production technology of which is rather
mysterious,” according to Oksana Smerechuk, the wife of the Ambassador of
Canada and the coordinator of the Canadian booth at the Bazaar.
Also, there will be maple syrup packaged in Canada and brought specially
for this fair directly from the manufacturer.
“Maple syrup is a natural product that is highly valued in Canada
because it is produced only in certain regions, and of certain kinds of maples.
It tends to be the culinary symbol of Canada,” she adds.
The Charity Bazaar will have dance and musical performances by
representatives of India, Georgia, Greece, Indonesia, Lebanon. Also, there will
be a football show, where the representatives of the embassies will play with
children, salsa classes, a kids’ corner, various raffles, where people will be
able to win Manchester United T-shirt with the signatures of the players, and
other prizes.
The Charity Bazaar will
take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 in Olimpyskiy Sports Complex (55
Velyka Vasylkivska St.). The entrance fee: Hr 70 for adults, Hr 20 for
pensioners and kids 6-18 years.
Kyiv Post staff writer
Anastasia Shepeleva can be reached at [email protected]
