Knead to know: workshop introduces people to art of making Easter bread

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on April 21, 2023.

Herald photo by Justin Seward Alla Panchenko helps teach an Easter bread making workshop this past weekend at the Multicultural Centre.

Ukrainian chef Alla Panchenko hosted a Ukrainian Easter Bread making workshop on Saturday at the Multicultural Centre.

The Southern Alberta Ethnic Association-hosted event had Panchenko show attendees how to the make Easter bread, also known as Paska, with participants making their own by the end of the session.

“What’s important is silence and the calm for the person who is making the Easter bread,” said Panchenko’s interpreter Vita Holoborodko.

The designs are usually derived from the revival of nature.

“Because Easter happens in spring and so you can see that nature is renewing itself and flowers appear, leaves and so on,” she said.

“And our ancestors, they were very close to nature and they observed what was happening around them and they connected this revival of nature to the celebration of Easter.”

Paska is part of a Ukrainian Easter basket that also includes painted eggs, meats and cheeses.

Panchenko came to Canada as a Ukrainian newcomer in August 2022 and thought it was important to do a workshop.

“Teaching is such a process that if you know something, you have to share it with us,” said Panchenko through the interpreter.

Panchenko wanted to share her knowledge of Ukrainian culture.

“And I know that there’s interest because there aren’t many Canadians who are of Ukrainian descent,” said Holoborodko.

“They may be third, fourth generation Ukrainians and I know that there’s interest for that,”

Panchenko has plans to have more events and activities.

“Because being myself, a newcomer, I would like to help others who just came to Canada to get integrated in to community too (and) feel themselves at home,” she said.

“The Ethnic Association is all about sharing culture,” said Anastasia Sereda, SAEA executive director.

“There’s definitely different ways of sharing culture. A lot of our events revolve around performances, and dance, and music and eating food, which is obviously great. But we thought that maybe it would be nice for folks to learn how to make the bread or how different foods are made, and basically the significance around why they’re made in specific ways, or like superstitions around why you make bread in a specific way.”

A traditional Ukrainian dinner was held Saturday night by the Project Sunflower Aids Society at the centre with Panchenko and had approximately 200 people in attendance.