Workshop in the Ottawa Valley & other winter announcements~

Mary helping create a collage board of Kosa pysanky prints & flyers from the past for our retrospective exhibition "Future Folkways: Reclaiming Rituals, Remaking Roots" at Hart House

Hello friends!

As suspected, I've not found time to write a blog post of all the upcoming activities, as I've been mega wrapped up in putting together a big exhibition and installing it in Toronto.

Thank you all for signing up to get updates- I'm afraid it's still so much easier to make short posts on social media, than setting down to writing a newsletter/ blog post, so that's where I've been sharing more.

I appreciate your presence here- off the ever distracting mind boggling meta platforms. Thank you!

What I've been up to mostly: the exhibition Future Folkways: Reclaiming Rituals, Remaking Roots at Hart House in Toronto!

It's a retrospective exhibition of Kosa from our last 15 years and we had the opening on Nov 9, combined with our 15 year anniversary celebration. It was wonderful to finally have the exhibit up, and to see it light up the space in the dark brooding (though ever gorgeous) neo-Gothic building :) I'd been planning it for months, and worked on some big collages for a couple of weeks in Toronto, and one week of install. I couldn't think about anything else until it was finally up and we hosted the opening!

So now, I'm catching up on all my other work and plans for the holiday season upcoming.

Big gratitude for dear community members who helped immensely with some of the exhibition compilation and installation (namely Mary Ptucha! @wildflowermoonshine), and the Hart House team, who have been a joy to work with. And all my Kosa sisters (& Carlos!) who contributed their creations from the years.

I'm quite proud of our exhibition, and all the work we've done as a collective community over the decade and a half, and would love for you all to know more about that!

If you don't - check out: www.kosafolkarts.org <3

Also- go see the exhibit at Hart House- it's in the main hallway until the end of February! The exhibit is just a starting point for a whole host of programming, hands on and experiential learning, and a lot of it is free and super cool! Come and join one of our events! It's all listed here: https://harthouse.ca/talking-walls/future-folkways and on our Kosa website.

While I was in Toronto, I managed to squeeze in quite a lot!

I taught a 2 day weaving class for kraika (woven belt) with the ladies of St. Mary's Ukr catholic church in Mississauga.

I attended the album release of Kalendar, our Ukrainian polyphonic singing group started by Kosa Kolektiv (I was an original member years ago), at Drom Taberna (home of best live music in Toronto).

I hosted a storytelling evening, telling a traditional Ukrainian folk tale in the gorgeous Hart House library!

I attended our Kosa caroling rehearsal. Somewhere in there I visited friends north of the city)

Beautiful Kalendar performing a traditional Ukrainian folk song. Pardon the poor sound quality of my video (they sounded amazing!)- Get their cd and enjoy the best sound recording of pure sonic beauty! <3

I scooted around too much, and ate too much takeout, but I also enjoyed a steam with my girlfriends at the local YMCA, an incredible ecstatic dance night at Light up the Night, singing and catching up with old friends post concert, and even squeezed in an hour of spinning wool at the Toronto Spinners & Weavers Guild drop in at Riverdale Farm (every tuesday! <3).

Not all in that order! ;))

Telling the Ukrainian folktale of "Kotyhoroshko" ("Rollipea") as part of our Kosa Folktales Series

I had a blast! And was very tired...

Now I'm so happy to be back for the real folk life at my home, and tending to hearth and craft.

Preparing straw creations and other crafts for a couple of holiday markets (Toronto- Dec 2, Perth/Brooke Valley Dec 13) and stocking winter vintage wares at Golden Gatherings in Golden Lake.

Ok! now for the workshop announcements!

Here's an announcement of an upcoming workshop in December: Embroidered ornament on Wed Dec 10 at Golden Gatherings shop. An absolute favourite one of mine.

I'll be leading you through cross stitch and this timeless beautiful 8 pointed star, some call the star of Bethlehem (in Palestinian Tatreez its known as this; in Ukrainian we often simply call this the "star" or "rose").

Workshop will be at Golden Gatherings in Golden Lake, Ontario. Jess Gibson's lovely shop stocked with an incredible array of organic and local food products as well as artisanal items, crafts, vintage clothing (my "thisfolklife_vintage" is upstairs). Worth a visit!

Come spend a sweet afternoon with us stitching and sipping tea, and possibly find some great holiday gifts while you're at it!

I'll also be leading a straw ornaments workshop at the Cordwood Studio Folk School, just outside of Perth, on Friday December 12, and will be selling my straw wares, and some vintage goods at the Brooke Valley School just down the road, on Saturday Dec 13 (alongside some incredible local artisans!) 11-3 PM.

That'll be it for workshops until the new year, when I'll be in Toronto leading some embroidery (amongst other things) as part of Kosa's residency at Hart House (U of T downtown campus). There is an incredible array of programming we have put together for students and the broader public, and I do hope you will check it out if you haven't already done so. https://harthouse.ca/talking-walls/future-folkways

Thank you for reading and following along!

I hope to see some of you this season,

sending much love, and wishes for peace and ease in this transition through the dark period,

please pray for Ukraine <3

may Light overcome Darkness

Bozena

Nov 21, 2025

Wilno, ON