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OUR STORY

Past Events

From one garage sale to thousands of guests — this is the UAFest story so far, and it keeps getting better every year.

Timeline

Three years, growing every time

2023
Organizers, volunteers and community partners of the first Ukrainian Fest Lanark County gathered together at a 2023 community celebration, holding flowers and certificates
A garage sale becomes a festival

Gloria Bradley's spring garage sale to support newly arrived Ukrainian families inspired the first Ukrainian Fest Lanark County — and helped deliver Christmas gifts to 50 children in the Kharkiv region through Rotary for Kids of Heroes.

1,000+
Visitors
2024
The festival's $9,395 ceremonial cheque being presented to Save Ukraine at a formal ceremony in October 2024
Growing roughly threefold

UAFest returned bigger than ever, opening a new charity partnership with Save Ukraine to support families and children affected by the war.

3,000+
Visitors
2025
The record UAFest crowd gathered at the fog-lit Main Stage at dusk
Our biggest year yet

UAFest welcomed a record crowd and continued its charity commitment through a new partnership with Kids of Ukraine, supporting children and families rebuilding their lives.

4,000+
Visitors
2026
Children in embroidered vyshyvanka shirts in front of a giant Ukraine flag held by the crowd — the next UAFest generation
What's next: Riverside Park, September 13 See what's planned →

UAFest returns to Riverside Park in Carleton Place on Sunday, September 13, 2026, from 12 PM to 6 PM — still free, still volunteer-run, and still partnered with Kids of Ukraine to support children and families rebuilding their lives.

5,000+
2026 goal
Close-up crowd of children and teens at UAFest
2023, In One Detail

Proceeds from that very first festival funded Christmas gifts for 50 children in the Kharkiv region, delivered through our partner Rotary for Kids of Heroes.

A single spring garage sale in Carleton Place ended up reaching kids on the other side of the world before the year was out — the same instinct that's shaped every UAFest charity partnership since.

The 2025 stage

September 13, 2025, hour by hour

The running order exactly as the Main Stage ran it — bandura and breakdance back to back, choirs at two o'clock, the light show after dark. Names link to a UA FEST Family profile wherever the performer has one.

Slots on stage
27
Doors to close
7h 30m
  1. 12:30 PMFestival Opening
  2. 12:35 PMMarta StepanenkoHymns
  3. 12:40 PMOfficial guestsSpeeches
  4. 1:15 PMFunky LevDrums
  5. 1:30 PMMariia BarhanSinger
  6. 1:45 PMDobryi Vechir BandFolk
  7. 2:00 PMOttawa Ukrainian Children’s Choir
  8. 2:15 PMMANUSinger
  9. 2:30 PMBreak Dance School in Canada
  10. 2:45 PMDance with us OttawaLyric
  11. 3:00 PMYuliia MakarenkoFolk
  12. 3:15 PMMolodtsiTraditional Dance
  13. 3:30 PMTetiana NavolskaBandura
  14. 3:45 PMDobryi Vechir BandFolk
  15. 4:00 PMDance with us OttawaLyric
  16. 4:15 PMZhyyvtysiaSinging
  17. 4:30 PMMolodtsiTraditional Dance
  18. 4:45 PMBreak Dance School in Canada
  19. 5:00 PMAsia SaraFolk
  20. 5:15 PMVatazhkyPop Band
  21. 5:30 PMOla SoykaPop
  22. 5:45 PMViacheslav NitrutsaPop
  23. 6:00 PMDance with us OttawaDynamic
  24. 6:15 PMMarta StepanenkoPop
  25. 6:30 PMDJ for afterparty
  26. 7:45 PMLight Show
  27. 8:00 PMOfficial Close
Aftermovie

Press play on UAFest 2024

The official UAFest 2024 aftermovie — filmed on the ground and by drone by Denys Savchenko with the Taisiia Mnishenko drone team.

Gallery

Moments from past festivals

Festivalgoers seated at round tables with floral tablecloths at UAFest, with a band performing on the balloon-decorated trailer stage behind them
Children and youth in white Ukrainian embroidered vyshyvanka shirts standing in a circle on the festival lawn, facing a large crowd of guests
A performer in a red embroidered vyshyvanka dress and floral crown singing on the UAFest stage, framed by blue and yellow balloons
Festivalgoers dancing together on stage, one waving a red and white flag, with a young girl looking on
A vendor smiling behind a market tent table of handmade soaps, gift boxes and fresh flower bouquets at the UAFest Ukrainian Market
A visitor reading a "Ukrainian Ancestry" photo display board set up under the trees at the festival
Families and children gathered around an inflatable jungle-themed bouncy castle in the UAFest kids' zone
The full UAFest volunteer crew in matching red T-shirts posing and waving together in front of the Main Stage at Riverside Park
Impact

What we've built together

8,000+
Cumulative guests since 2023
3
Festivals held
100%
Volunteer-run, every year
5,000+
2026 goal
2025 Impact Report
See exactly where the guests, the funds and the community support went — full summary available by request.
Request the Report
Related Stories
Large festival audience seated and standing on the lawn at Riverside Park, watching a children's choir perform on the Main Stage
Community Stories
From a Garage Sale to a Festival: The UAFest Origin Story
A teen volunteer helping a younger girl whisk batter in a mixing bowl at the Cookiddoo kids' cooking booth at UAFest
Impact Reports
Why We Partner With Kids of Ukraine
Folk dancers in red embroidered skirts, white embroidered blouses, and floral crowns dancing with arms raised on the UAFest stage
Festival News
UAFest 2026: Aiming for 5,000+ Guests at Riverside Park
Newsletter

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