What was previously staged as a charitable dinner event to support the people of Ukraine has taken on a new urgency in a changed geopolitical climate.

In 2022 and 2024, the Old Alcohol Plant Inn presented the nonprofit Bayside Housing and Services’ dinners to support Ukraine, yielding thousands of dollars for the humanitarian aid organization UNICEF in the war-torn country.

The latest such event, set for Friday, April 25, promises to do the same, with Chef Troy Murrell, of the Spirits Bar and Grill at the Old Alcohol Plant Inn, again planning a $100 buffet-style menu of Ukrainian dishes, to honor the culture and cuisine of the country.

But this time, the stakes are even more existential, according to James Holthaus, director of housing and supportive services for the Port Hadlock-based Bayside, who led last September’s Ukraine dinner.

“Speaking with my Ukraine contacts, many Ukraine citizens fear arrest and deportation under President Trump,” said Holthaus, who cited his experiences in the military and overseas as supplying him with plenty of reasons to care about the plight of the children and families living in, or fleeing from, the beleaguered nation.

Holthaus explained that “many” Ukraine organizations in the United States, and even Seattle specifically, are being “overwhelmed” with mail solicitation and phone calls from the U.S. government, from the Department of Homeland Security to Citizenship and Immigration Services, wanting information on both Ukraine citizens and the lawyers representing them in America.

Holthaus spent 15 years serving in the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army, including a stint on Naval Magazine Indian Island, but he’s also had dual citizenship in Canada since 2004, because while he was born in the United States, his mother came from Canada.

As such, Holthaus has been deeply dismayed by the U.S. shifts in stances since the new adminstration took over, from immigration to international relations.

“It’s been shocking to see so much change in such a short amount of time,” Holthaus said. “A lot of decent people are very scared right now. NATO has started to take a more active role, independently of the United States, but our support for the people of Ukraine still needs to continue.”

To help highlight the state of affairs in that country, the April 25 dinner will include, as a guest-speaker, Ukrainian-born U.S. citizen Oleg Pynda, executive director of the Ukrainian Community Center of Washington, which includes its Seattle Community Center.

The evening’s program will also cover the role of the Ukrainian Community Center itself, and the work they do on behalf of Ukrainian refugees.

“Oleg was in Ukraine last September, and is highly sought-after to speak on Ukraine events, so this talk should be very interesting,” Holthaus said. “The significance of this cause goes beyond even Ukraine, though. It’s essential that we all stand up against agents of authoritarianism, wherever they might be.”