You don’t exactly have to look for Ancient Rus’ clothes to take part in this festival, but it would be a good idea to get prepared for learning about the world in which the young Anna Yaroslavna grew and was brought up. It is this approach that the National Sanctuary “Sophia of Kyiv” is taking to hold Anna Fest, an art and history festival. The territory of St. Sophia’s Cathedral will turn into an uncommon creative space for two days, July 18 and 19, with chamber music, light effects, film shows, and meetings with the historians, writers, and actors who have something to do with the figure of Anna Yaroslavna.
Organizers say they are planning to hold this kind of events annually and dedicate them not only to Anna, the Queen of France, but also to her sisters Yelyzaveta and Anastasia, and their mother Ingegerd. “I was surprised to see the way Anna Yaroslavna is honored in France. In Ukraine, too, people must know her. Anna was an uncommon and very educated personality. She studied writing, dancing, etiquette, and foreign languages at a girls’ school,” says Nelia Kukovalska, director general of the sanctuary.
Trying to convey the atmosphere of Anna’s era, Ukrainian stage directors and scriptwriters are still warning that they do not promise a true historical reenactment because Ancient Rus’ sources mention very few facts about the middle daughter of Yaroslav the Wise.
“The material we are handling now is extremely complicated, for it shows the first sprouts of national culture,” stage director Serhii Proskurnia says. “We want to turn this space into the realm of a fairytale, in which a girl with a great future is born and raised. It is a family festival, and its program will be drawn up in such a way that it is interesting to children, so that children could get absorbed into this history and their parents could go though quest games and stations of literature, philosophy, theology, ancient music, vocal, and primordial forms of the theater. We will thus try to lift, at least a little, the curtain on that epoch.”
As far as funding is concerned, it is a project of volunteers and art patrons. It is a creative platform for all those who want to reproduce, albeit partially, the era of principalities. For example, Kyiv-based sculptor Kostiantyn Skrytutsky will present the project of a statue of Anna which he says symbolizes the princess’s childhood. There will also be Yaroslavna’s room. “Children will be entering it without parents. They will find themselves in a simulated space of history as a fairytale and acquire some knowledge through games and toys. Maybe, as time goes by, the festival will have an impact on a new generation,” Proskurnia adds.
Some consider the festival to be the continuation of a legend about Anna. If you opt for this version, you’d better look for an Anna-style outfit when you go to see this extravaganza.
