Why We Partner With Kids of Ukraine

The festival took place on September 13, 2026. This story was written before it.UAFest 2027: join the waiting list →

Every year, a portion of UAFest's proceeds goes to a charity partner working directly with children and families affected by the war in Ukraine. For 2025 and 2026, that partner is Kids of Ukraine, an organization focused on helping kids and their families overcome trauma and adapt to a new home.

That charity tie is part of why the festival exists. UAFest itself grew out of a fundraiser for displaced Ukrainian families in Lanark County, and every year since, part of the day has gone back to families still living through the hardest version of that story.

The partnership has shifted as the need has: in 2023, festival proceeds helped fund Christmas gifts for 50 children in the Kharkiv region through Rotary for Kids of Heroes; in 2024, the festival partnered with Save Ukraine. This year, that same spirit continues with Kids of Ukraine — one more way a single day in Carleton Place reaches a lot further than Lanark County.