Ukrainian Pavilion pulls out of Folkfest due to high costs, low attendance

Saskatoon Folkfest will be missing one of its most beloved pavilions when the festival gets rolling this summer.

The Ukrainian Karpaty Pavilion will not be a part of this year’s festival. While the pavilion has been a staple of the festival for decades, offering Ukrainian food, cultural displays, live music and dancing, a boutique and more, the Tryzub Society Board said declining attendance and high costs left them no other choice.

“Unfortunately, since 2020, the Pavilion has seen a decrease in visitors. The cost of participating in Saskatoon Folkfest also continues to increase, making our Pavilion more and more expensive to operate each year,” the board wrote on social media.

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“This has resulted in the need to re-evaluate what the Ukrainian Karpaty Pavilion will offer to the Folkfest experience and to the Ukrainian community in the future.”

While the pavilion will be absent from this year’s festival, the board said it is reviewing options to upgrade the pavilion for 2025 and working to recruit new members to fill vacancies.

“This was a difficult decision as the Pavilion has long been a venue where the Ukrainian Community has stood united, and where opportunities to share our dance, music, food, and culture were provided,” the board noted.

“However, we are confident we will find a renewed path forward that will make our Pavilion an even greater experience for our entertainment groups, our vendors, our volunteers, and the larger Ukrainian community.”

The board thanked the “generations of fabulous volunteers” who helped make the pavilion a success in previous years.

Saskatoon Folkfest runs from Aug. 15-17.