NANAIMO, Canada – For many Ukrainians living on Canada’s west coast, the sound of Paulette MacQuarrie is the sound of home. MacQuarrie is host of “Nash Holos,” a bilingual Ukrainian-themed radio program. Nash Holos means ‘our voice’ in Ukrainian and over the two decades of its existence it has become something of a home-away-from-home for those who trace their roots back to Ukraine.
MacQuarrie, a second-generation Ukrainian Canadian, frequently introduces herself as Pawlina – the Ukrainian version of her name. She made her radio debut in 1990, when Nash Holos first took to the airwaves in the province of British Columbia. The program was broadcast on CJVB Radio with three co-hosts: Bohdan Zajcew, a seasoned radio veteran, Eugene Lupynis and MacQuarrie. “I didn’t have any experience, but there was a great desire to bring Ukrainian culture here,” MacQuarrie said. “It was a lot of fun.”
The show ran until June 1996, making it the longest-running Ukrainian radio show in the history of British Columbia, dating back to the 1930s. Then the team split – “call it your mid-life career change.” Luckily for the listeners, the show resumed broadcasting in 2000. It was hosted by CHMB station in Vancouver, home to 2.4 million people and the third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. It was a life-changing moment for MacQuarrie who became the sole host. Living in the busy city where a work commute might easily take a few hours, she decided to invest in a microphone and mixer and started recording from home.
“Even though an hour-long show doesn’t seem like a lot, it’s [an awful lot] to cover,” MacQuarrie said, adding that each program requires lots of preparation. Over the years she learned how to speak with equal ease about the latest Ukrainian pop songs and the vagaries of Ukrainian-Canadian politics.
One of the driving ideas behind the show is the dichotomy of its focus, as it helps Ukrainians to blend into new society and at the same time keeps them tied to their roots. But immigrants are not the only ones who are paying attention to the program.
As for the program components, music and recipes are by far the most popular part of the show, according to a listener survey done a few years ago. “Recipes are very high on the people’s list because many listeners are not familiar with Ukrainian cuisine.” MacQuarrie adds that their Tips for Ukrainian Cooking had a very solid start as this segment of the show dates back to the early days of the program.
In 2010, however, it was discontinued. MacQuarrie wanted to explore new horizons, but she occasionally rebroadcasts archived episodes on the listeners’ demand. That year was marked both by the end of one era in the life of Nash Holos and the beginning of a new one. The show became internationally syndicated by Taiwan-based PCJ Radio International to over 20 countries on AM, FM, and shortwave radio. Two years after that, MacQuarrie moved to the city of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, bringing the show with her and making it the farthest western Ukrainian radio show outside Ukraine. It takes almost 15 hours to fly the 8,600 kilometres from Nanaimo to Kyiv. MacQuarrie herself made the trip to her ancestral land in 2015.
Nash Holos transformed in Nanaimo. Even though MacQuarrie studied Ukrainian at the university, she admits she can’t speak the language well enough. Serendipity struck when she met her future co-host at church. It was Oksana Poberezhnyk, a young Ukrainian who had immigrated to Canada from Ternopil. When Poberezhnyk realized her daughter’s name is the same as MacQuarrie’s, she thoughts it was a good omen. Together the two women decided to make the program bilingual. That’s how the second hour began to be broadcast exclusively in Ukrainian. Poberezhnyk adds more Ukrainian taste to the show. “We started working more with the new communities and immigrants coming to Vancouver Island. Oksana brought so much to the program,” recalls MacQuarrie.
Poberezhnyk said her favorite part is finding stories of people to tell. “There are always so many interesting things around you to showcase and radio is such an easy way to penetrate into every house.” The Nash Holos website now also allows its listeners to download the podcasts, which averages close to 1,500 downloads monthly. The international edition of Nash Holos exceeds 25,000 downloads monthly.
Nash Holos now also fills its airwaves with traditional and modern Ukrainian songs, interviews with Canadian and Ukrainian government officials, veterans and volunteers involved in Russia’s war against Ukraine, news on Ukrainian dance and English language reviews of Ukrainian-themed books. It also has been featuring a special Ukrainian Jewish Heritage biweekly series exploring Ukraine’s Jewish history as well as current community development and restoration.
Poberezhnyk believes that Nash Holos is slacking their listeners thirst for round-the-clock news, interaction and entertainment from their homeland at a time when taking a trip to Ukraine might be cost-prohibitive. “When you want to hear a Ukrainian voice you can simply listen to the radio.”
To check out Nash Holos program visit their official page.
