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The Portland-Lviv Friendship City Association was honored to take part in the Portland Rose Parade, thanks to the gracious invitation extended by Yulia Brockdorf and DAWN. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Yulia Brockdorf and DAWN for including our members in this memorable event, which allowed us to join fellow members of the Ukrainian community in celebrating this cherished Portland tradition.

12:00-1:30pm Portland City Hall It was a great pleasure to attend the Portland Sister City and Royal Rosarians Rose Festival Reception as representatives of Portland-Lviv Friendship City Association. This reception is an annual tradition and important part of Rose Festival that celebrates Portland’s international ties. For the second year, the Friendship Signing Ceremony included representatives of Portland-Lviv Friendship City Association adding our signature to the Sister City Proclamation.

4:00-6:00pm Viking Pavilion at Portland State University Join Portland-Lviv Friendship City at International Night 2024 and celebrate diverse cultures from around the world! This event is open to all, don’t miss out! Admission| Free for PSU students/faculty/staff, $5 for general public. (Tickets are required for entry.) https://sites.google.com/pdx.edu/international-night-2024/home Culture Booths 4:00-6:00 pm Come and explore our cultural booths featuring a wide array of traditions, customs, and organizations! Our volunteers and student leaders will be on hand to share insights and showcase the diversity of our community. Visit each booth, collect stamps, and exchange them for raffle tickets at the Culture Booth Information Counter. Don't miss the chance to win prizes at our raffle drawings during the stage performances!! International Cuisine Station 4:30-6:00 pm (First come, first served) Embark on a culinary journey with us and taste dishes from around the world! Our menu offers a diverse selection of international flavors for you. Food will be served on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure to arrive early to enjoy this delicious food. Cultural Performance Stage 5:45-8:00 pm Enjoy stage performances showcasing a fusion of traditional and modern music, dance, and more. The stage kicks off with an opening ceremony and wraps up with a cultural fashion show highlighting the beauty and individuality of various cultures. Join us for an unforgettable showcase of talent and cultural diversity!

6:30-8:30pm Lucky Lab | 1945 NW Quimby ST, Portland, OR 97209 Vyshyvanka Day is a Ukrainian holiday, dedicated to preserving the rich traditions of creating and wearing vyshyvankas. This observance is deeply rooted in Ukrainian culture and has gained global prominence. People worldwide now wear vyshyvankas in solidarity with Ukraine. Celebrate Vyshyvanka Day with Us! Join us at Lucky Lab in NW Portland for local beer and conversation any time between 6:30 pm and 8:30 pm. If you have a vyshyvanka, please wear it on this annual Vyshyvanka Day. If you don’t have a vyshyvanka yet, this is your opportunity to see vyshyvankas from different regions and learn their stories. You may even get a tip of where to get your own vyshyvanka for next year’s Vyshyvanka Day. The vyshyvanka is not just fabric and thread; it’s a living connection to the past, a celebration of artistic beauty identity, and a testament to resilience. •Family History: Vyshyvankas were often handmade and passed down as heirlooms within families. Wearing one can connect one to their ancestors and the history of their family. Sometimes specific embroidery patterns or colors held special meanings within families, serving as a way to remember important events or family traditions. •Beauty: The intricate embroidery on the vyshyvanka is a stunning art form. The colors and patterns are visually captivating and represent a celebration of artistic expression. •National Identity: Different regions in Ukraine have their own distinct styles and patterns in their embroidery. Wearing a vyshyvanka can signify where one’s family comes from and connect them to a specific part of Ukraine. •Power & Strength: Traditionally, the embroidery patterns were believed to hold protective powers, warding off evil and misfortune. Wearing a vyshyvanka symbolizes inner strength and a connection to something greater than oneself. Vyshyvanka’s Historical Roots Vyshyvanka has a centuries-old lineage, tracing back to an archaeological find in the village of Martynivka (Cherkasy region) in 1909. Among the artifacts unearthed were two statuettes—men elegantly attired in long, flowing shirts adorned with intricate chest-level embroidery, seemingly caught in the spirited dance of the hopak.

3-4:30pm Pioneer Courthouse Square Portland-Lviv stood in solidarity with over 100 cities worldwide, commemorating a decade of remarkable resilience, bravery, and hope. During the event, board members Tatiana Terdal and Tad Everhart took the stage. Notably, Tad expressed, “Spiritually, I am Ukrainian-American today—not only grateful for my American identity, but also echoing the sentiment of President John F. Kennedy when he declared, ‘I am a Berliner’ to the free citizens of the Western half of that city. Today, I proudly proclaim, ‘I am Ukrainian.’” This sentiment struck a chord with each of us.

7 to 8:30am Just Bob Coffee | 2403 NE Alberta, Portland 97211 As we mark the second anniversary of Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine, come have coffee with Portland's Ukrainian Friendship City, Lviv, a city famous for its coffeehouses. Enjoy Portland's own Lviv Latte and a live web link with the people of Lviv. Special for the morning--a 12 oz Lviv Latte and a pastry for $10. All proceeds will go to Voices of Children--Ukraine-based organization that helps children process the trauma of war with psychological and psychosocial support. We will also have information about the important role Lviv has played in bringing coffee to the western world. If you can't make the event, we encourage you to drop by Just Bob any time you can, order Lviv Latte, and thank Just Bob for their ongoing support of Ukraine and vulnerable Ukrainians. --Voices of Children Main page - Голоси дітей (voices.org.ua) --Coffee with Lviv, Ukraine! RSVP https://fb.me/e/gXL2SviMM

We gather at Just Bob coffee house to enjoy a Lviv Latte and discuss the year ahead!

Thanks to WorldOregon and Tim DuRoche, members of the Portland-Lviv Friendship Association had the wonderful opportunity to engage in a meaningful conversation with Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, former Ambassador to Ukraine, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. It was truly a pleasure to interact with this distinguished career diplomat and fascinating individual. During our discussion, we had the chance to share about the children's rehabilitation center Dzherelo in Lviv. It was heartening to see Ambassador Yovanovitch recall her visit to Dzherelo in 2017, underscoring her genuine interest and connection to the important work being done there.

Thanks to the invitation by Ukrainian Foundation, we participated in Ukrainian Day PDX—the largest Ukrainian festival in Portland Metro area. It was a very hot day but many people braved the 90+ degree temperatures to come celebrate Ukrainian culture. We shared information about Portland-Lviv Friendship Association, pictures, books, and crafts from Lviv. Thanks to everyone who signed up to hear more about the organization and our upcoming events!

In August 2023 our President and Secretary traveled to Lviv. Due to ongoing Russian invasion and acts of terror against civilians, there is no civilian air traffic over Ukraine, so all travel into Ukraine is by car, bus, train, or on foot. Lviv is located close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, about one hour’s bus ride from the closest Polish border crossing. Our members were warmly met in Lviv and had a number of meetings, both with Lviv City administration officials and members of Lviv public who had been working towards a sister city relationship between our two cities for a number of years. On August 1, 2023, we met with Ms. Iryna Dzhyhovska, Head of Bureau of Foreign Cooperation for the City of Lviv. Our meeting started at Ms. Dzhyhovska’s office at Lviv City Hall but halfway through the meeting an air raid alarm sounded, and we had to move to the closest bomb shelter where we continued the meeting. Ms. Dzhyhovska confirmed City of Lviv’s support for a sister city relationship between our two cities. Once the air raid alarm for Lviv was over, we also had the privilege of meeting Levchyk—a cat that lives at Lviv City Hall and is known as #LvivCityCat on Instagram. At the invitation of Ms. Dzhyhovska, we toured Unbroken Rehabilitation Center. Since the start of the all-out Russian invasion in 2022, Lviv has become a major humanitarian and medical center providing shelter to hundreds of thousands of refugees from the occupied areas of Ukraine and offering medical and other services to its growing population. Unbroken Rehabilitation Center provides a wide range of services, including emergency medical care, reconstructive surgery, prosthetics, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and psychological counseling. Volodymyr Fedorov, Deputy CEO of Lviv First Medical Organization, gave us a tour of Unbroken and talked about the support that the center has received from Lviv’s sister cities Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) and Vilnius (Lithuania) and other donors and supporters. Visit to Lviv presented a wonderful opportunity to reconnected with Taras Fedak, who visited Portland in 2006 as part of State Department program on “Energy Efficiency”, and Lyubomyr Zubach, Deputy Mayor of Lviv for Urban Development, who visited Portland in 2017 as part of State Department program on “Good Governance”. Both of them were happy to hear about the ongoing relationship between our two cities and reconfirmed their support. Visit to Lviv offered many opportunities to enjoy the city’s art, culture, coffeeshops and bookstores. We also had the pleasure of touring the new campus of Ukrainian Catholic University based on the master plan developed by University of Oregon Associate Professor Gerald Gast and graduate students from the Urban Projects Workshop at the College of Design in Portland. Most of our days and some nights in Lviv were interrupted by air raid alarms; we had to get accustomed to going to bomb shelters as part of Lviv’s reality of a city in wartime.

The Portland-Lviv Friendship City Association was honored to take part in the Portland Rose Parade, thanks to the gracious invitation extended by Yulia Brockdorf and DAWN. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Yulia Brockdorf and DAWN for including our members in this memorable event, which allowed us to join fellow members of the Ukrainian community in celebrating this cherished Portland tradition.