in here we show you 10 fun festivals in Ukraine. Ukraine is not just a major sightseeing destination, it is also a land of some of the most colorful and amazing festivals. Thus, when you are planning a visit to Ukraine, you must know about the major festivals in Ukraine so that you can accommodate it in your itinerary. The charm and beauty of Ukrainian festivals can easily compete with major festivals around the world.
Get ready, hold your excitement till your flight lands at Kiev as you get to be a part of celebrations. So, let’s know more about the major festivals in Ukraine.
Table of Contents
- 01. Leopolis Jazz Fest
- 02. Atlas Weekend
- 03. Malanka Fest
- 04. Silver Tatosh
- 05. Molodist Festival
- 06. Centaurs Horse Stunt Festival
- 07. Ostrov Festival
- 08. Gogolfest
- 09. Ivan Kupala
- 10. Lviv Coffee Festival
01. Leopolis Jazz Fest
The Leopolis Jazz fest is considered as one of the finest jazz events happening in all of Europe. The festival greets jazz artists from all over the world. More than 40,000 spectators come to participate and have a look at this festival. Different scheduled concerts are held, and you can also participate in various jam sessions and workshops. Thus, it is a festival to interact with different artists around the world. If you are a music enthusiast, you must attend the Leopolis Jazz Fest.
02. Atlas Weekend
Atlas Weekend is a major Kiev festival, which pleases its guests with a variety of locations and an excellent line-up every year. Among the performers that have already played here are such musicians as Apocalyptica, The Prodigy, John Newman, Three Days Grace, Alex Clare, and famous Ukrainian musicians like Jamala (the winner of the Eurovision 2017), Onuka (band of electronic folk), The Hardkiss (rock band that performs in English), and many others. There is a tent city on the territory, but it is not necessary to spend the night – the entrance and exit of the festival are unlimited.
03. Malanka Fest
In January, this ethnographic event takes place in Bukovina and Galicia. To celebrate it, people dress up as animals, folk characters. The tradition of this celebration originates from medieval carnivals. Many see a connection with otherworldly forces, spirits. The festival is held every year, it is just an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the authentic Malanka, which has been in existence for more than a hundred years.
04. Silver Tatosh
This historical festival is organized in May in the Chinadievo village. Arriving at this time in the village, it seems that you find yourself in the center of the ancient knighthood. At the holiday you can meet guests from Ukraine, Slovakia, Hungary. Here, each country presents its own team of knights. They demonstrate strength in competitions, and at the end, knightly fights take place.
Guests have the opportunity to taste dishes prepared according to old recipes, taste wine, shoot a crossbow or bow, and live in a medieval camp. The master in this matter will help to understand all the intricacies of what is happening.
This event itself takes place in the castle of St. Miklos. Once it was a prison, residence, village council, military unit.
05. Molodist Festival
Since 1970, the Molodist International Film Festival has supported young filmmakers and their short films. It takes place in the last week of October each year. The main aim of the festival is to promote the development of young contemporary cinema.
The competition program of the festival annually presents dozens of national and international works of talented young filmmakers from all continents of the world. The non-competition section of the festival traditionally presents a series of programs that introduce the viewer to the best achievements of the newest films.
06. Centaurs Horse Stunt Festival
Centaurs” – is a festival which unites the best horse stuntmen of Ukraine. They often and successfully represent our country on international competitions and participate in world show-programs.
The participants will demonstrate amazing stunts: riding upside down, backwards, on two horses at a time, they will slip under the horse, build «pyramids». And all of this at full gallop! Arabesques, One Foot Drags, pistols and French crosses – this is not the whole list of dizzying stunts, which can be seen on the “Centaurs” festival.
07. Ostrov Festival
Ostrov is the largest festival of electronic music in Ukraine. Traditionally, three independent stages are installed at the festival, as well as many bars and entertainment zones. It is a striking, non-stop, open-air party that lasts 72 hours. It is held on Trukhaniv Island on the Dnieper River. Visitors dance on the sand, have drinks, and marvel the spectacular panorama that opens from the coast onto the city centre of Kiev and the ancient district of Podol.
08. Gogolfest
Nikolai Gogol (1809 – 1852) would have thoroughly enjoyed the festival that bears his name in his native Ukraine. He was famously ambitious, as is the festival, and equally famously unafraid of pointing out the absurdities of those in authority. There was nothing anarchic about him, though many of his works portrayed the anarchy that authorities could cause through their venality and stupidity. Importantly for present politics too, he was equally at home in the Ukrainian and Russian languages. What he perhaps would have liked best is that there is nothing normal about Gogolfest.
Most festivals are held in a particular place or region at a particular time of year. Gogolfest is not. It seeks out partner cities that are prepared to hold a festival to make a strong case for solidarity in the face of the forces, emotional or physical, that are tearing communities apart. In Ukraine the age-old tensions, not only of language, but of the different traditions in the four corners of the country, always need drawing together.
09. Ivan Kupala
First and foremost, it is associated with the end of the summer solar cycle of pre-Christian holidays, and eventually, after the adoption of Christianity, it transformed to some extent into a church holiday. Thus, the ancient folk feast of Kupaila began to be called the holiday of Ivan Kupala.
But folk memory preserved the Kupala ritual and songs that belonged to ancient times, to the original poetry and rituals. This day has always been associated with many beliefs, attributes, traditions, ceremonies, and even prohibitions, and that is why ahead of Ivan Kupala Ukrainians have long adhered to the traditions of celebration.
10. Lviv Coffee Festival
The city of Lviv, one of Ukraine’s main cultural centers, hosts an annual coffee festival that attracts coffee lovers from all over the country and abroad. The Lviv Coffee Festival takes place every fall.
The Lviv Coffee Festival was created by a group of coffee lovers who wanted to bring outstanding coffee to their community. The event is organized by DikArt, a creative marketing company that has been operating in Lviv for about two decades.
One of the main goals of the Lviv Coffee Festival is to bring together people passionate about coffee, be they industry professionals, connoisseurs, or coffee lovers. The festival draws over 100,000 people over 4 days, including coffee lovers, roasters, brewers, baristas, latte artists, coffee house owners, and more.