Last Saturday afternoon like hundreds of thousands of other Americans who gathered in the streets, churches, town halls and other public spaces, I joined with our Ukrainian neighbours to show support for the innocent people of Ukraine during this horrific war.

It was a sunny but a freezing cold afternoon and yet about two hundred people showed up for the outdoor rally and vigil. Many held signs and waved small Ukrainian and American flags and some of our Ukrainian friends brought their own very large flags from home.

The event was moderated by Sullivan County District 2 legislator and Ukrainian born Nadia Rajsz of Glen Spey, and there were speeches of support made by local elected officials and prayers offered by our clergy members. Earlier this week one of our local Ukrainian churches, Saint Peters and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was having a pre-ordered fundraising pierogi sale, but all the inventory sold out immediately.

There are several national and international well known and reliable organizations collecting donations for Ukrainian aid and before donating it is always best to check the organization’s status on a site called Charity Navigator that independently evaluates the fiscal responsibility of fundraising organizations and what percentage of their funds go directly for services and not extravagant salaries and other inflated administrative costs (charitynavigator.org).

If you would like to donate locally you can send a donation directly to Saint Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church at Post Office Box 178, Glen Spey, NY 12737-and should the Church sponsor another pierogi sale I will make sure I post it in this column.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ukrainian people. As the old Yiddish proverb says, “When one must, one can” (meaning- when you are forced into a difficult situation, you can accomplish anything because necessity knows no law.)

Community events are beginning to come back, and I am really excited about the “normalcy” of it all. I saw that the Barryville Area Arts Association has reopened their very popular The Artist Market Community Center in Shohola. Their opening exhibit is “The Truth About Saint Patrick” (spoiler alert… he was not Irish) will be featured at the Center through March 19th.

In addition to focusing on the myths and legends about Saint Patrick it will celebrate everything Irish and settle many of the misconceptions about Irish history and the Irish’s most considerable contributions to the arts. This is the Artist Market Community Centres’ first exhibit in two years, and I am so happy that we will be able to enjoy their wonderful exhibitions once again as they survived the rough and tumble of the pandemic.

The Artist Market Community Center is still at 114 Richardson Avenue in Shohola. For additional information visit them on Facebook or at artistmarketcc.com.

The next big event that is returning is the Friends of the Sunshine Hall Free Library will be holding their Book and Bake Sale this summer. I have been a volunteer with the Friends of the Sunshine Hall Free Library and according to Joan Turner, the President of the Friends, the sale will take place in the Highland Town Hall, and the dates will be in early July probably after the 4th of July with the “First Dibs” preview sale on Friday night, then the Book and Bake Sale on Saturday and Sunday.

We are waiting to confirm the availability of the dates we are proposing with the Town Hall before we can announce the sale dates. So, stay tuned and start packing up all those books you may want to pass along to our avid readers.