'Happy and proud': Regina's Ukrainian community comes together for Tavria Festival

The Tavria festival made its return to the Regina Performing Arts Centre over the weekend.

The event, which ran from March 10th to 12th, saw Ukrainian dancers from across Saskatchewan and Manitoba put their best foot forward on the stage with traditional Ukrainian costumes and music.

Judges were on hand to evaluate each dance and award participants with gold, silver, bronze medals and trophies for the highest scores.

For Kate Miezianko, it was a successful day, as she got a 99 per cent score for her "Volyn" dance solo.

"The second the bell rings and you are waiting for your music to start [you’re] just shaking,” Miezianko said.

“You just really want to do well because you are proud of what you do, and that's when all the excitement and nerves come.”

Children as young as 3 years old took the stage dancing in front of their loved ones.

"The kids are so excited to show their passion for dance and to be here today to celebrate their parents, grandparents, "Babas" and "Didos" are here glorying everyone,” Karla Warnyca, head of communications for the Tavria Festival, told CTV News.

“Just really happy and proud to be here today."

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Groups of all age categories have a chance to perform on stage.

For all dancers, participation in this year's festival was even more important as it helped to preserve and support Ukrainian culture in a time of war.

"It is very important to share our culture and let people know what's going on in a colourful and energetic way," Miezianko said.

The venue offered the Ukrainian community of the prairies to gather and put their support for the homeland on full display.

"[We can] come together as a community at this time and really show that we are strong and we are resilient, and we are going to preserve our culture no matter what,” Warnyca said.

“We will preserve in Canada, and we will preserve in Ukraine."