History reenactors gathered in the Fomin Botanical Garden. Its green hills hosted a fair, complete with vintage hats and glasses, old books and vinyl records. The organizers also allocated an area for lectures and dance master classes, and there were many of the latter kind, offering boogie-woogie, Charleston, and blues experience. Those qualified played petanque, a French ball-throwing game. A five o’clock tea party was held, just as they do it in the UK. Meanwhile, a jazz concert was going on at the grand stage.
The festival was centered on participants of a tweed-clad cycling race. Hundreds of them arrived to the start line, drawn near the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. Renowned artist Oleksandr Roitburd, who took part in the festival for the fourth time, was one of the first to complete the race in the botanical garden. “I have a lot of impressions, it was a beautiful event overall,” Roitburd told us. “My character comes from the interwar era. I have fitted these pants, jacket, and cap myself, while my bow tie, shirt, jacket, and shoes were bought at a ready-to-wear store.” Roitburd wore a black ribbon as well, in memory of those who died to contain the Chernobyl disaster.
Despite the heat, Leonid did not take off his woolen jacket. He was dressed as a mid-20th century British commando military doctor. Leonid was not only a participant at the festival, for he doubled as its resident medic as well. “I am tactical medicine instructor in real life,” Leonid admitted. “Collecting this set of clothes took me a long time, as I bought some parts in the markets, and other garments came over the Internet. My character is fully consistent with the historical prototype, and I reviewed a whole bunch of photos and documents to create it. I am wearing a special cap, a jacket, and the object of my pride – authentic leather galliffet which were made in the 1940s or 1950s.”
The WWII-era British aviator is the character recreated by the festival’s organizer Marianna Fakas. “Ukraine is in trouble, and we, retro lovers, stand always ready to support our country,” Fakas told us. “In general, our event has grown a lot. We started as an English-style cycling parade with a tea party, and now we have a grand festival of retro culture, open for all people of this city. The retro movement is not retrograde. We look forward but respect traditions.” So, let us be ready for the next Retro Cruise, to be held this fall.
