All guests got acquainted with Ukrainian customs and traditions, enjoyed Ukrainian songs and music, experienced Ukrainian crafting, tried speaking Ukrainian, dressed up like Ukrainians, tasted Ukrainian food, and even participated in some ancient Ukrainian singing dance PODOLIANOCHKA.

PENNSYLKRANIANS

Ruslana Kaminska performed under the stage name of Rusia (ROO-sia). It is a shortened diminutive form of the Ukrainian name Ruslana. She came to the US with her parents as a refugee in 2023. She and her family are from the city of Zaporizhia in Eastern Ukraine. She has been taking voice lessons in Ukraine and has continued her vocal studies in State College, PA. She had already performed locally at several Ukraine-related events and is a student at State College High. Ruslana is the Laureate of youth competitions in Zaporizhia, Dnipro and Kyiv, and the winner of a nationwide Ukrainian musical performance competition for youth in the United States.

Jerela (Dzherela = Springs), formerly known as Struny ta Hrim (Strings and Thunder), is a Ukrainian-American strings duet currently based in San Antonio. Its members, Nick and Maria Smereka-Hladio, are a married couple that grew up in the Ukrainian community of the Pittsburgh area. They were introduced to the bandura, the national instrument of Ukraine, through the Kobzarska Sich summer bandura and vocal program in Emlenton, PA. After celebrating their wedding on the same campgrounds, they have been playing together as a duet since. Additionally, Nick performed in the State Theatre KORINYA concert, our very first charitable event organized by Sister’s Sister in State College in 2023. Now, Nick travels and performs with the Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus of North America. Maria is a former President of the PSU Ukrainian Student Society, a PSU alumnus, and currently a medical student in San Antonio. Maria also performs with the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America. They are shared their love for the bandura and Ukrainian folk music with the festival guests at Colerain.

You can listen to them singing “Oi, ne khody Hrytsiu, tai na vechornytsi” here, in the video recorded by Prof. Michael Naydan

The post-industrial sounds of: Rumble & Scream!

Rumble & Scream is a post-industrial folk-rock opera. Featuring the hillbilly-bard, “Lattimore Scream,” singing and storytelling with oft-effected guitars and banjos, harmonicas, and more, while his wife and bandmate moves effortlessly from drums to samplers and synthesizers, when they can Latti’s brother and cousin join them on stages and porches. Yes—Rumble & Scream is a family band at its core.

Fronted by a grandson of the founding members, Jeremiah Scream and Betty Rumble-Scream, Rumble & Scream is carrying the sounds and stories of post-industrial mountain music into its third-generation. Coming all the way from the year 1910 these Central PennsylKrainia natives brought the past and future together in their presence at the festival! 

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY! WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN!

THANK YOU everyone who visited Sister’s Sister’s booth at the Central Pennsylvania Arts Festival in State College, PA on July 10-12, 2025. We had great time chatting with people who support Ukraine. And we raised $2840 for our humanitarian aid fund. Please visit our site again to check what is the impact of your donations in Ukraine. Donors received little gifts from the variety of items mostly hand-made by our local Ukrainian community (long-term residents of State College and the current refugees from Ukraine). Some items came to State College directly from Ukraine. Enjoy the pictures of Ukrainian souvenirs with cultural significance.

ДЯКУЄМО ЩИРО! THANK YOU A LOT!

Photos: Roxanne Naydan, Yulia Ladygina

For the first time in history SISTER’S SISTER participated in the Central PA Festival of Arts. Our tent was located in front of the Borough building, from Friday through Sunday, July 12-14, 2024. We had some special thank you gifts for donations starting from $5. We had a few authentic T-shirts made in Nizhyn, an adorable soft rabbit toy made in the Nizhyn toy factory, a stainless steel Nizhyn water bottle, a beautiful Nizhyn umbrella, totes, notebooks, books, cards, etc. (please see the pictures). We also had awesome Ukrainian t-shirts, and the unique posters created by children from Zaporizhzhia. And coasters, bracelets, stickers created by the members of the Ukrainian community in State College and their friends.

THANK YOU FOR VISITING US!

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone who came to the concert and to those who were not able to come but sent donations. We thank from the bottom of our hearts to those who donated their time and talent creating this event and making the concert unforgetable. Our cordial thanks go:

To the musicians — Seulki Yoo, piano; David Stambler, saxophone; Jonida Lazellari, piano; James Lyon, violin; Melody Quah, piano; Ashley Shank, flute;  Susan Kroeker, flute/piccolo; Andreas Oeste, oboe;  Anthony Poehailos, clarinet; Brandy Davis, clarinet;  Sarah Schouten, horn; Ethan Ruble, horn;  Daryl Durran, bassoon; Benjamin Maclay, bassoon; Guanchen Liu, contrabassoon; Isabella Scotti, percussion; and Dennis Glocke for the masterful rendering of Ukrainian classical music. THANK YOU!

To the singer from from Ukraine — Niara Mamontova for her special performance of the Ukrainian unofficial anthem Oi U Luzi Chervona Kalyna (Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow). ДЯКУЮ!

To the concert organizer — prof. Daryl Durran for his unceasing devotion and tireless work in organizing this concert. Without Prof. Durran, this event would not have been possible. THANK YOU!

To our hosts — Grace Lutheran church of State College, PA for donating the venue and making this a very special event possible. THANK YOU!

To our welcome speakers — Rev. Scott Schul, Mayor Ezra Nanes, Ukrainian researcher Dr. Lyudmyla Kuzmych for their warm remarks and deeply felt statements. THANK YOU!

To our inspiring sponsors — George and Nina Woskob for all their support from little to big things, and in particular for those very special Ukrainian treats so generously given to all the participants.

Artwork created by Ukrainian children and their teacher Nadiya Chepiga from the city of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine were exhibited at the Multicultural Children’s Festival at the State College Area High School organized by the WPSU on April 6, 2024. The city of Zaporizhzhia is under constant enemy shelling but the children’s creativity lives on. Zhanna Kaminska, sister of Nadiya, is a Ukrainian refugee from Zaporizhzhia, who currently calls State College her home, was instrumental in making the exhibition of children’s art a reality.

Thank you all who came to to the concert to support Ukraine on Saturday, March 23, 2024. It was a great concert. The violinist was amazing. The exhibition of posters created by children from Zaporizhzhia, a city under constant enemy bombing, were outstanding. The atmosphere and camaraderie were awesome!

This was further evidence of how skillful and talented Ukrainian people are.  All they need is peace to live on their own land, practicing their own culture and traditions. The enemy wants to annihilate all things Ukrainian, and denies the existence of the nation of Ukraine. Ukrainians continue fighting for their land and their independence. But they cannot do it alone. Please call your elected officials in DC and ask them to vote for supporting Ukraine. Most of the allocated funds will create well-paid jobs in the U.S. And the world will regard the U.S. as the leader of protecting democratic values, and resolving the humanitarian  crisis.

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The spring is here, and so is a new benefit concert for Ukraine. Please join us on Saturday 23, 2024 for a benefit concert featuring VASYL POPADIUK, a Ukrainian violinist. Vasyl is known as the “Ukrainian Paganini”. He is a classically trained violinist from Ukraine, who currently lives in Ottawa, Canada. He plays 15 instruments. He is a founder of  the band “PapaDuke”, with whom he travels the world, playing music in world music styles, Latino, gypsy, and jazz. 

The concert will take place on the stage of the Performing Arts Center of the State College Area High School. The entrance to the Arts Center is at the back entrance of the High School.  The suggested price is $10 for an adult, and $5 for a student. Those who would like and are in the position to donate more, can do so before or after the concert. All donations will be used to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including our sister-city of Nizhyn. Donations are accepted by cash, checks (to Sister’s Sister), Zelle or Venmo. 

In this critical time for Ukraine our support is vitally important for the Ukrainian people’s survival. Please bring your family, friends and neighbors to the concert on Saturday, March 23, at 7:00 pm. There are plenty of nice and comfortable seats in this outstanding  auditorium. The seats will be occupied on a “first come, first serve” basis. Sorry,  no food and no drinks are allowed in the Arts Center. Please, use the parking lot by the back entrance (keep right when entering the high school campus,  driving around the school building to the back entrance). 

On Saturday, February 24, 2024, the world will witness the beginning of yet another year of the gruesome, ruthless, inhumane war fought by a country in the heart of Europe, Ukraine. This day will start the 3rd year of Russia’s imperialist claims to its neighbor, a sovereign country of Ukraine. The war that was planned to end in 3 days, continues into the 3rd year. Ukrainian brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and grandparents keep on fighting for their freedom, for their survival, and for the future of all democracy. Events this week clearly demonstrate what a Russian victory would bring not just to Ukraine but to the entire world.

Please join us at 2:00 pm on Saturday, February 24, 2024 in front of the Old Main Building for a rally commemorating the two horrific years of the full-fledged war against Ukraine. 

***^{The video is provided by the Mayor’s Office of Nizhyn, sister-city of State College.}

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Rmt0vs8ebjfuWe5EYtlmCDpvZ3PePWp4/view?usp=drive_link

The documentary SCREAM OF MY BLOOD: A Gogol Bordello Story was viewed at the Phillipsburg Historic Theatre on Saturday, November 4, 2023, organized by the Centre Film Festival (see more here). The movie was about the GOGOL BORDELLO band created in NY by the Ukrainian immigrant Eugene Hutz. Eugene attended the event and performed several of the band’s songs accompanied by his violist Sergey Ryabtsev. Ukrainian food and drinks added a special flavor to the event. The funds raised were donated to the humanitarian assistance organization RAZOM. Thank you all who attended and who made this event possible!

Ukrainian dumplings – varenyky were delicious!

YES, WE DID IT!!!

Our Benefit Concert on June 5, 2023 was a BIG success! Thanks to your generosity we have raised $10,025 for our humanitarian assistance to the sister-city of Nizhyn. And there are still some checks coming in the mail. We’ll keep you updated.

Well done State College!

Max Zorin, performed “Spanish Dance” by Myroslav Skoryk, the composer he met in person while performing in Odessa at one of the International competitions.

Ruslana Kaminska a high-school student from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, who currently resides in State College with her parents, performed two famous Ukrainian songs “Ballad of the Mallows” (Volodymyr Ivasyuk/Bohdan Gura), and “Paint Me a Night” (Myroslav Skoryk/Mykola Petrenko).

If you were unable to attend the concert but would like to donate money for humanitarian relief for our sister-city of Nizhyn in Ukraine, you can still do it by pressing “Donate Now” button at the bottom of the page. THANK YOU!

All pictures but those specifically credited are by Svitlana B. Jones

OUR VERY FIRST BENEFIT CONCERT! We raised over $6000! Thank you everyone who supported our cause and who organized this event!