About a month ago, the U.S. government was shifting away from their commitment to support Ukraine, just as the european nation entered their third year of defending themselves from Russia’s most recent invasion. I felt sad and embarrassed to think Ukrainians thought we’d abandoned them, so I reached out to our online friend Oleksandr of the Vespa Club Ukraine in Kiev, and told him our club would hold an event to show our support.
After a few weeks of planning, hype, and excitement, the Vespa Club of Chicago “Ride for Ukraine” took place on Sunday, March 23. The weather forecast predicted a high temperature of 42°F, with a 90% chance of rain during the event. As a scooter club in a town that’s too cold for scooters for six months of the year, then too hot for scooters for the remaining six months, we try to not take it personally when bad weather derails our big riding plans, but the show must go on… We announced that the “ride” itself was cancelled, but hoped people would still join us for lunch and a tour of the art museum.
Six members appeared (in cars, ha!) outside the Old Lviv Buffet at 11am. For some reason, the restaurant was still dark inside, so we moved across Chicago Avenue to the fancier Tryzub restaurant. Most of the club ordered breakfast or their delicious potato pancakes, I enjoyed the Banosh: crispy polenta spheres with brynza cheese and mushroom sauce, with a glass of kvas. Tryzub is known for dozens of flavors of infused vodkas, so we tried a few of those, then headed out into the sunshine. At this point I was hoping for rain, I was going to be angry if it turned out to be a pleasant day (despite the sun, it was still very cold and windy.)
After a visit to Anna’s Deli for coffee, pastries, and some imported treats, we headed down the street to the Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, for a 1:00 guided tour. Our delightful host, Elena, walked us through their two exhibitions. The first was works chosen from their permanent collection to represent the story of the museum itself. Two Ukrainian sculptors, Konstantin Milonadis and Mychajlo Urban, met at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and immediately connected, initially because of their background, but soon also realized they shared many other interests and dreams. Throughout the sixties and seventies, this partnership grew into a collaboration of many artists, hosting small exhibitions in alternative venues and other events to promote Ukrainian contemporary art. Eventually, with the support of Dr. Achilles and Vera Chreptowsky, they started the UIMA in 1971, then developed the existing museum in 1978. The story of the artists and museum resonated with our Vespa Club, since we have similar goals of building a lasting community in Chicago, sharing our friendship and resources for generations to come.
UIMA’s other current exhibition is Iranian-American artist Maryam Safajoo‘s “Our Story is One,” a large collection of her paintings featuring her family and friends experiences as practitioners of the Baha’i faith in Iran after the 1979 revolution. Her bright, engaging paintings depict terrible human rights violations and difficulties faced by Iranian Baha’i, and how the community stays together to support each other through the troubles.
Our tour was sidetracked by honking horns, we went out into the light rain (finally!) to see a long parade of cars flying Ukrainian flags, and waving “Free Azov” banners… We waved in support, unaware (until I looked it up later) that the Azov regiment of the Ukrainian National Guard is (depending on who you ask) at best “problematic,” and at worst, a hateful right-wing organization with an appalling history. Nothing is ever black-and-white. Even our polite and well-informed host Elena’s thoughtful commentary featured an occasional hint of nationalism. It’s all absolutely understandable, given the current Russian aggression and hundreds of years of conflict, but it’s important to avoid blanket generalizations about human beings on either side of a conflict. It’s critical to stand up for your beliefs when they’re supported by your conscience and the facts, and there’s no reason to give hateful trolls and racists a voice. But at the same time, no one should be unwilling to concede that “their side” is infallible — that’s the hubris that fosters fascism and colonialism and plagues the world with conflict. (Sorry to sound like an eighties Sting track.)
Back to our lighthearted romp through Ukranian Village… we shot a bunch of photos with Elena, who was very excited about our club and scooters (she’s promised to come dance with us!). In return, we promised to come to a “We Stand with Ukraine” concert in April, featuring members of the Chicago Lyric Opera orchestra with Ukrainian musicians.
By this point, finally the skies were looking foreboding. We made a quick stop into the Delta-M gift shop for some souvenirs and parted ways. The rain finally hit — hard — shortly afterwards.
We learned a lot, had a fantastic meal, and put a bit of cash into the Ukrainian-American economy, but, again, the whole point of all this was to remind our friends in the Vespa Club of Ukraine that we’re thinking of them, and hoping for a quick, peaceful resolution to the nightmare they’ve been facing for more than three years. Oleksandr suggested a charity we could support, and we’re excited to say we’ve raised a few hundred dollars for Tabletochki, they’re helping Ukrainian children fight cancer during these difficult wartime conditions.. We’d love to send more, please consider making a donation through our fundraiser. All money’s going directly to Tabletochki, and for a limited time, it will be matched with a 50% bonus from the Together for Ukraine campaign.
One of the greatest things about the Vespa — and scooters in general — is knowing that people around the world have built longstanding communities around their love of these machines. I love to look at photos of scooter events all over the world and see groups of scooterists — of all nationalities, ages, races, genders, and religions — enjoying riding with friends, just like we do. Anywhere on Earth, a scooterist can find new friends who will drop everything to sit over some food and drink and tell stories, long into the night. All human beings should be so lucky to be a part of something so special. Cheers to the Vespa Club of Ukraine and your family and friends, hopefully your beautiful country is peaceful again, very soon.
