On Saturday, December 10th at 7:00 pm, the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro will host a holiday concert to benefit dozens of displaced Ukrainians living in Vermont. The refugees are staying at Mercy House in Derby. Seventeen of these displaced people are children, and several of them are living with disabilities. Proceeds from the concert will benefit the most immediate need, a wheelchair accessible van.

The Mercy House Singers will share the stage with the Hazen Union Choir and other Northeast Kingdom high school choirs in this moving holiday performance. The Dzvinochok Boys Choir and Vognyk Girls Choir will join the concert via video stream from the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth in Kyiv, Ukraine. (The boys and girls recently drove 15 hours and crossed two borders to perform live with the Rolling Stones in concert in Vienna, Austria.) The concert also includes famed Maine folk singer-songwriter Dave Mallett and his bass player, Mike Burd.

Ruben Tolmachiov, the Director of the Boys Choir at the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth, noted, "Singers and artists too have a role to play in these difficult times, not just soldiers."

Prior to the concert Ukrainian chefs living at Mercy House will present a themed Ukrainian dinner, including include blini, borscht, Kapusta salad and dessert. The dinner will take place at 5:30 at the Highland Center for the Arts. Photographs of Ukraine by Vermonter Elliot Burg will be displayed in the Gallery.

Tickets for the concert as well as the dinner may be purchased online at highlandartsvt.org.

Event Info

Jun 29, 2024, 7:30 to 10 PM

Jul 1, 2024, 6 to 8 PM

Jul 3, 2024, 11 AM to 3:30 PM