KINGSTON \u2013 Ulster County and Ukraine\u2019s Chernivtsi region held their second official Sister Community exchange Wednesday, bringing together dozens of visitors at the Ulster County Fair for a cultural weaving workshop highlighting traditional Bukovynian fiber arts.<\/p>\n
The event, held in the fair\u2019s Wool Room, featured a virtual tour of the School of Bukovynian Taistry in Chernivtsi led by master weaver Odarka Kucheryava, with interpretation by Gardiner resident Halyna Shepko. Participants viewed traditional looms, historic Bukovynian weaving patterns and techniques unique to the region.<\/p>\n
Following the virtual presentation, Shepko, \u00a0superintendent of the Ulster County Fair Wool Room and founder and director of the Mokosh Ukrainian Weaving Center in Gardiner, led a hands-on demonstration of Bukovynian Taistry weaving. Fairgoers worked on a traditional pattern from the Chernivtsi region using Ukrainian fiber supplied by Shepko.<\/p>\n
The workshop also included a tour of the Wool Room\u2019s local fiber displays and an introduction to the sheep whose wool was used in many of the fair\u2019s demonstrations, highlighting agricultural and cultural connections between Ulster County and the Chernivtsi region.<\/p>\n
The exchange builds on the Sister Community agreement signed in April 2025 and follows an agriculture-focused forum held last October. The partnership is intended to strengthen cultural ties while promoting traditional arts, agriculture and local heritage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe weaving exchange at the Ulster County Fair beautifully captured the spirit of our Sister Community partnership with the Chernivtsi Region in Ukraine,\u201d Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger said. \u201cBy sharing these traditions, techniques and stories, we\u2019re building meaningful connections that transcend borders and learning from one another. It was great to have the opportunity to showcase our own agricultural and fiber-arts heritage while uplifting the rich cultural legacy of Bukovynian weaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Shepko said textiles have long connected her to her Ukrainian heritage, recalling a family story in which her grandmother fled a World War II front line with Shepko\u2019s mother, then a child, on a sled covered by a handwoven Ukrainian woolen kilim.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kilim was their shelter and their bed,\u201d Shepko said. \u201cSupporting folk arts is important anytime, but during war even more so because of it being targeted for destruction. It\u2019s the code of a nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
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