On July 6-8 Kyiv’s Spivoche pole (Singing Field) hosted the 4th international ethnic festical Kraina mrii, or Dreamland, initiated by the charismatic Oleh Skrypka. This year’s Dreamland occupies a special place in Ukraine’s cultural and artistic life. Here visitors can familiarize themselves with ethnic groups from other countries, but above all watch talented folk performing groups that are carriers of traditional Ukrainian culture from the Crimean to the Carpathian Mountains.
According to Taras Kompanychenko, a noted kobzar and regular participant, this festival is like being back home after a very long trip: “Here everyone feels like a master of a land with a fantastically rich, even if mistreated, cultural heritage; this heritage remains to be discovered. Here you feel like arranging pleasant surprises for one’s friends visiting from all parts of the world, people who know about our country perhaps almost as little as we do about theirs. After all, we want to surprise them by revealing our talent,” says Kompanychenko.
Since it was the first time this folk fest coincided with the Ivana Kupala (St. John the Baptist’s Day) celebration, the emphasis was on traditional festivities. After boys and girls adorned the Marena puppet on the square facing St. Andrew’s Church with colorful ribbons, flowers, and wreaths, trembitas (Ukrainian straight alpenhorns) sent their resounding message that a fire had been started with the ancient fire-bow technique. Then the traditional Kupala procession began to the accompaniment of music by the Fanfare Orchestra. People marched through downtown Kyiv all the way up to Spivoche pole, where ancient rites were performed, including making wreaths — symbols of young girls’ wishes for a happy marriage — and sending them sailing down the Dnipro, performing round dances, burning the Marena puppet, and jumping over bonfires.
As in previous years, two events took place on several stages. The only thing that makes Dreamland different from its European counterparts is the absence of an adequately equipped tent city. Last year’s Rock Sich was also organized by Oleh Skrypka, and a tent city was set up by eager audiences from other cities.
This time there was a master dance class involving Odesa’s Fanfare Orchestra, Kyiv’s Buttia and Lithuanina Sjaudjala where people could learn Bessarabian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian folk dances.
There was also the Obriadova stsena ritual podium upon which a Boiko drymba and trymba orchestra played traditional vechornytsi tunes, along with Kyiv’s Volodar group that performed the witch-burning ritual. The capital’s Contemporary Art Center performed Richard III. Prologue. The Kobzar Stage accommodated the well-known Taras and Sviatoslav Sylenko, Eduard Drach, Kostia Cheremsky, Yurko Fedynsky, Mykola Tovkailo, Mustafa (Turkey), and Tara Komopanychenko, of course, who was deservedly in charge. Among the new performers were Nazar Bozynsky, Vasyl Kyrylyk, and Nazar Cherkas. As in previous years, the children had their playgrounds and there was a Masters Alley.
The Lavra, Zelena haliavyna, and the Big Daytime Stage were constantly occupied by performing groups, including regular guests like Bozhychi, Drevo, Volodar, Serpanok, Nadobryden, Buttia, and Red Cardel (France). The event was highlighted by Algerian-born world music star Khaled, who performed a variety of genres and styles combining Middle East and rap/hip- hop, chanson, and Afro. Until now the Ukrainian public knew him for his hits Didi and Aicha. There was also the Finnish group Varttina with their lyrical Finnish-Hungarian style combinations.
At a press conference before the festival Skrypka announced that the emphasis would be on young Ukrainian groups, like Sonstekliosh, DrymbaDaDzyha, Choboty z buhaia, and Bandurbend.
These groups made their debuts on the Evening Stage, with Skrypka standing at the side of the stage in his usual modest manner. There was huge audience, and Oleh set the tune to such popular songs as “Haliu,” “Prykhod,” and “Oi u vyshnevomu sadochku.”
To a certain extent such cultural events reflect what is happening in Ukrainian society and attract a great deal of public interest.
