roskoliada- a christmas story

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The grand finale to tour 2022 caroling season with the Vertep team garnered us well over $10,000 in one evening!
A Vertep (Вертеп) is the Ukrainian Christmas tradition of acting out the nativity story in a traveling play. This year’s script was updated to reflect the current events in Ukraine and was staged in the besieged city of Mariupol. 
Towards the end of our performance season we received a request for a medical evacuation vehicle. A unit wanted to purchase an ambulance to safely evacuate wounded from the front lines. The total expenses for this request were estimated to be as high as $15,000 so we started on it right away.
A special performance of our Vetep was set up in the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago. This was themed as an immersive experience into Ukrainian caroling traditions, complete with other performers, carols, and dances the public could participate in during the event. 
In the end, an unforgettable evening for everyone also helped us raise a staggeting $13,363. We were also invited to a fundraising Thursday at the Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen restaurant and were lucky enough to raise another $1,285 more! Of course, an ambulance purchase is already in the works, with a report coming soon!