It's a milestone year for a group that celebrates classical Ukrainian heritage.
Canada's National Riding and Dancing Cossacks and Company will celebrate their 50th anniversary this Thursday as Canada's National Ukrainian Festival comes to town.
The group started as a relatively small one, dancing on the streets of Dauphin during the CNUF parade, and over the past half-century, it's grown to the point of being one of the biggest highlights of the CNUF Mainstage.
The Reeve of the RM of Dauphin Ernie Sirski has been part of this organization for quite some time, and he's got a big party in the works for the group's alumni, as well as their current members.
"We're having a supper for all the alumni on Thursday at 6 o'clock at the hill at the Cossack camp right at Selo Ukraina. We're inviting all the alumni to come on Thursday at 6 o'clock for supper, we're going to host a supper for them and the current dancers that will be there as well."
Reeve Sirski spoke a bit about the history of the group, and how it's expanded over time.
"It all started in 1973 as Canada's National Riding and Dancing Cossacks, and probably about 2 or 3 years later we actually added the '-and Company' component and that's the girls that dance with us. So that's how we became Canada's National Riding and Dancing Cossacks and Company."
The show is an absolute must-see event, kicking things off with the blast of a cannon and the thundering of hooves as the riders and dancers make their way to the stage.
Sirski also noted that this particular variety of performances may be unique in Canada, if not the world, as he's not aware of other groups combining the skills of both dancing and riding in such a spectacular fashion.
So if you're an Alumni of the group, Sirski says don't be late for supper at 6 on Thursday, and for the people that this show is one that you definitely do not want to miss!