Hosting the cloth in your community
The plan, the checklists and the texts we used to prepare the North American premiere in Carleton Place, adapted for any city. Copy them and make them yours.
The campaign, week by week
Ten weeks is comfortable for a first stop. A shorter run works if the hall and the permits are already in hand.
- 10 weeks beforeAgree the stop with the project team. Find the hall or the park, a partner church or school, and one person who owns the day.
- 9 weeks beforeOpen a stitching circle for your community’s panel: fixed evenings, open to anyone, materials on the table.
- 8 weeks beforeWrite to the municipality, the churches and the schools. Ask about permits, the procession route and insurance.
- 6 weeks beforeOpen registration for the people who will carry the cloth: adults for themselves, parents for their children, with photo consent in the form.
- 5 weeks beforeSend the first press release to local newsrooms. Invite them to film the stitching circle.
- 3 weeks beforeConfirm insurance and the certificate of insurance the venue asks for. Settle the photographer and the plan for the day.
- 1 week beforeWrite to every registered carrier: meeting point, time, what to wear. Send a media advisory with the photo moments.
- The dayRegistration desk at the meeting point, marshals along the route, the panel ceremony, one person for the press.
- 1 week afterThank the carriers, the embroiderers and the partners by name. Open a photo archive for the frames people took.
- 4 weeks afterSend a short report to the project team and to your funders: what happened, the coverage, the photos, what you would change.
Checklists
Display, storage and transport requirements for the cloth are agreed with the project team for every stop. The lists below cover your side of the day.
The day of the procession
- A registration desk with a printed list of carriers and a sheet for walk-ins
- Name tags or wristbands for children, with a parent’s phone number
- Water, a first-aid kit and a person trained to use it
- A short briefing before the start: how to hold the cloth and when to stop
- A photographer who knows which families declined photos
Safety on the route
- The route and any road closure agreed with the municipality in writing
- Marshals at every crossing, in visible vests
- An adult for every small group of children, walking beside them
- A plan for rain and for heat
Consent and data
- Photo and video consent collected for every child, one named child per consent
- Names of embroiderers and organizers published only with their permission
- Contact details kept for the event and deleted or archived after it
The cloth itself
- Display, storage and transport requirements agreed with the project team before the stop
- Clean, dry indoor storage and a named person who holds the key
- Clean hands and no food or drink near the cloth
- A written handover when the cloth arrives and when it leaves
Texts to copy
Replace the words in square brackets. The facts in these texts match the fact pack.
The Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory is coming to [city] on [date]. It is a travelling cloth of Ukrainian embroidery, 160.5 m long at its European record, stitched by communities across Europe and now North America. Every community that receives it adds its own panel. Come and carry it with us: [meeting point], [time]. Registration is free: [link].
For Facebook, Instagram or a community newsletter.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — [city], [date] [City] hosts the Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory [Your organization] will host the Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory, a travelling cloth of Ukrainian embroidery, on [date] at [venue]. [One sentence on what happens: a procession, a display, a panel ceremony.] The cloth joins 103 rushnyky from 89 organizations. On 24 May 2026 in Tallinn, The Book of World Records registered it as a European record at 160.5 m. Its North American premiere took place on 13 September 2026 in Carleton Place, Ontario. The project was conceived by Andrii Yatsenko and is carried by its co-organizers in Ukraine and Estonia. [Your community’s panel: who stitched it and what it shows.] Media contact: [name], [phone], [email] -30-
Keep the facts paragraph as it is; it matches the fact pack.
Dear [name], On [date], [your organization] will host the Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory, a travelling cloth of Ukrainian embroidery that holds a European record and has been received by communities across Europe and in Canada. We would like to carry it in a short procession from [start] to [finish] at about [time], with [expected number] participants, including children with their parents. We are asking for your guidance on the permits, the route and any road closure, and on the insurance the town requires. We would be glad to welcome you, and to have the town represented on the day. With thanks, [name], [role], [phone]
Send it at least eight weeks ahead.
Dear parents and guardians, On [date], the Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory comes to [city]: a travelling cloth of Ukrainian embroidery stitched by communities across Europe and North America. Children are invited to carry it in the procession from [start] to [finish], together with adults. Participation is free. Please register your child here: [link]. The form asks for your consent to photos and video. Adults accompany the children for the whole walk. Gather at [meeting point] at [time]. Light clothing or a vyshyvanka is welcome. Thank you, [name], [organization], [phone]
Attach the registration link with the photo consent built in.
Thank you, [city]. On [date], you carried the Rushnyk of Unity – Rushnyk of Victory through our streets. Thank you to everyone who held the cloth, to the embroiderers of our panel, [names], to [partners] and to the volunteers who kept the day safe. Our panel now travels on with the cloth. Share your photos with us at [link] — together they become the record of the day.
Name people only with their permission.
Ready to host?
Tell us your city and your dates. We share what worked in Carleton Place and connect you with the project team.