Tabir: True stories of a Ukrainian Summer Youth Camp (Life Rattle Press new publisher series)

In Tabir: True stories of a Ukrainian Summer Youth Camp, Andrew Dmytrasz gives readers an inside account of one of the most unique, unforgettable youth summer camps you’ll ever read about—from the perspective of both a twelve-year-old camper and, later, as a teenage counsellor. Run by a Ukrainian youth group under strict rules, “Camp Sunshine” demands that campers march each morning from their palanka (cabin) in their odnostrijs (official uniforms) to a soccer field. Divided into khlopjaczyj pidtabir (boys’ side) and divchata pitabir (girls’ side), they stand at attention and participate in appel, a combination of army-style roll call, prayer and daily announcements. The Komandantka (head administrator) and Komanda (heads of camp) instruct the campers on all matters related to tabir (camp). Along the way, Andrew Dmytrasz introduces readers to a host of characters—fellow campers and later fellow camp counsellors—in a series of hilarious and sometimes poignant camp adventures. Then the seventeen-year-old and his friends, some of whom attended the youth camp with him, fly to Ukraina (Ukraine) and explore their roots and connect with other people who share their Ukrainian heritage.