Perhaps for the first time in Yorkton鈥檚 history a public event is being planned that reportedly will not feature pierogis and cabbage rolls.
The evening of dinner and entertainment is being put on March 15 by the new Yorkton congregation of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which is hoping it will raise their profile in the community. Organizers say their choice for the menu is pretty obvious.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all about the pasta,鈥� said Minister Mark Rayhoffer. 鈥淚n honour of His noodly appendage, of course.鈥�
There was almost immediate blowback from the Ukrainian Embassy in Ottawa.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unprecedented,鈥� said Ambassador Andriy Shevchenko. 鈥淚t may even constitute an international diplomatic incident.鈥�
Bishop Bryan Bayda, head of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, said he was not surprised, but disappointed.
鈥淭his group is irreverent at best,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut not serving pierogis and cabbage rolls at a Yorkton event? That borders on sacrilegious.鈥�
The most difficult thing about scheduling the event, however, was finding a venue that understood the client actually did not want to serve pierogis and cabbage rolls.
鈥淢ost of the managers just laughed us out of their offices, or they couldn鈥檛 wrap their head around our request,鈥� Rayhoffer explained.
The Church finally managed to book the Gallagher Centre. Jan Morrison, the centre鈥檚 events manager said she had no problem accommodating the special requirement.
鈥淭hey said they didn鈥檛 want pierogis and cabbage rolls,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淪o, we said, 鈥榶eah, sure, whatever.鈥� We all had a good laugh about it.鈥�
Asked if she understood the client was serious about not having the Ukrainian staples at their event, Morrison scoffed.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just ridiculous, who would plan an event like that in Yorkton?鈥� she said. 鈥淲e will have all their pasta dishes, but of course there will be pierogis and cabbage rolls as well.鈥�
