Medina resident Oleh Mahley performs bandura at the Medina County Arts Festival on the Medina Square on July 13. (Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com)
MEDINA, Ohio — The Medina County Arts Council celebrated its 39th annual Arts Week July 9-17 with a full schedule of performances, classes and activities planned throughout the county.
Activities included chalk art in Brunswick and Seville, a magic show and magic workshop for teenagers in Brunswick, the Sharon Showcase at the Sharon Center, a yoga and painting class in Wadsworth, and a cartoon class at the Wadsworth Library.
The first annual Art Camp for Kids was held July 11-13 at the United Church of Christ, 217 E. Liberty St. in Medina. The camp ended with the 13th festival on the square. Children performed dance routines and displayed their artwork while parents and guests took pictures.
Cassie Jirous helps children make crafts during the Medina Square Art Festival on July 13. (Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com)
Along with energetic performances by the children, maestro Oleh Mahley of the Hryhory Kytasky Cleveland School of Bandura performed on his traditional musical instrument. Mahley, a resident of Medina, was the first to speak about the history of the bandura and the current persecution of its players by the Russian military in Ukraine.
The bandura is an instrument with 50 to 60 strings that dates back to the 13th century. Its sound combines the acoustic principles of the lute and harp, creating a sound similar to that of a harpsichord.
Mahley, wearing a traditional hand-embroidered shirt and a Cossack haircut — partially shaved with a long tail on one side — played several pieces on the bandura, some with one of his students.
(He said the hairstyle came about during the pandemic when his hair grew back. He compared it to buying a red convertible for a midlife crisis.)
Medina resident and bandura musician Oleh Mahley wears a traditional Ukrainian hand-embroidered shirt for his performance. (Mary Jane Brewer, Special to cleveland.com)
After the bandura performance, Jamison Bowman, owner and teacher of the Fairlawn violin studio, introduced three of his students who played their violins.
Meanwhile, the lawn was packed with patrons watching the performances, enjoying hot dogs from the Kiwanis tent or lunch at the various restaurants that border the square.
Children had the opportunity to make crafts with the help of volunteers from Access the Arts. Volunteer Cassie Jirous, an art teacher at Granger Elementary School, showed the children how to make windbreakers out of paper cups and ribbons, and musical shakers out of decorated water bottles partially filled with rice.
She said that at least 80 children participated in making crafts.
To learn more about the arts council and its events, visit www.medinacountyartscouncil.org.
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