As part of Ukrainian Independence Day, Stillus Craft Spirits Distillery, held a celebration/fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 20 to commemorate Ukraine’s 31 years as an independent nation and help raise funds for children in Ukraine.

Stillus, a Ukrainian family owned and run distillery, along with Christine Chomyn, held their first fundraiser with $1,542 being donated through Ukrainian Canadian Social Services, Toronto to 4th-wave.org.

“Despite the heat and humidity the Stillus family and volunteers did their best to keep things light and enjoyable,” Chromyn said. “There was a fabulously diverse crowd. It was heartfelt to say ‘thank you’ or ‘cheers’ in Ukrainian and have many respond in like or even in other languages. I made an effort to get around and teach many a few Ukrainian words and we had a Ukrainian folk-song singalong! It was great fun while raising money for such a great cause!”

Ukrainian pottery, clothing examples, Ukrainian artist displays and music, were all part of the event. 

“We will collect all the proceeds from food sales and then we will donate this money to Ukrainian children,” said Alex Derzhavi, owner of Stillus Craft Spirits Distillery. “Today we are offering pierogis and Ukrainian borscht and we’ve never served it here before. My sister cooked the borscht.”

Select art was available for purchase with a percentage of proceeds being donated.

All proceeds from food sales of borscht, pierogis and a light dessert go to fundraising efforts for humanitarian aid. 100 plates of pierogis were served.

For more information on Stillus please visit https://stillus.ca/