On 9 September 2023, Bohuslav hosted the annual historical and cultural charity event “Portal through the Centuries: Old-World Bohuslav”. The event aimed to present to the general public the traditional Ukrainian culture of a century ago and reveal the life and coexistence of the community’s three largest ethnic groups: Jews, Ukrainians, and Poles.
The festival was held in several locations and included photo zones. The most visited ones were the “Skrynya” (“The Chest”), “Photo Salon”, and “Retro Picnic”, where guests could feel like residents of Bohuslav city of a century ago and try on clothes and accessories of that era. Retro Picnic presented the city’s culture, while Skrynya and Photo Salon presented the folk costumes of the Bohuslavshchyna. All elements of clothing were recreated from old photographs of our region. This sparked great interest and admiration among visitors.
At the Bohuslav Fair and Shynok locations, guests to the festival had a chance to explore the wares of local craftsmen and taste local craft food. The craftswomen also pleased curious children with interesting workshops. Together, they spun corncob dolls, made wax candles, wove motanka dolls and made birds and horses out of straw.
A separate space for children was also created for younger visitors, combined with the “Komora” (or “Larder”) location. Kids were offered to be involved in a kind of quest: at the entrance, they received a paper bracelet on which they stuck stickers indicating that they had completed certain tasks. The quest aimed to introduce children to the life of Ukrainians a hundred years ago through the use of old household items. The tasks included hanging jugs on the fence, cutting grass for pigs, antique ironing, carrying a pot with an oven fork, etc. Upon completion, the children had to show their bracelets with stickers and name a few new things they had learnt. As a reward, the children received a treat. Amazingly, over 100 children completed the quest!
A distinct and important part of the festival was the subject of Polish and Jewish cultures in Bohuslav. Local historian and professional guide Oksana Palchyk shared some interesting facts about Bohuslav’s Polish and Jewish communities. The ZPIT ‘Polanie znad Dniepru’ NGO introduced the festival participants to Polish customs, traditions and folk costumes. Folk songs in Polish were sung by Yulia Derkach, a creative music teacher and author of a book about Ukrainian folk games in Polish.
The Bila Tserkva private lyceum Mitzvah-613 presented an excerpt from the play “Jewish Happiness”, held a quiz and an energetic Jewish flash mob, which was well received by the audience. And gastronomic guide Olena Bezruk held a workshop and a charity auction called “Polish Fish in Jewish Style” with some romantic stories. At two locations at the festival, guests were welcome to taste Jewish delicacies, see Polish and Jewish books, and talk to Jewish and Polish guests of Bohuslav and local parishioners of the Church of St. Wladyslaw and the ksiądz (or “priest”).
The main stage of the festival was decorated with a large ‘vytynanka’, which amazed the guests with the mastery of craftsmanship. This is the “Light Through” art project, created by students of the “Digital Ethno Art” major at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Design of Borys Hrynchenko Kyiv University under the supervision of Yevheniia Lypovetska, a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.
Old-world musicians enjoyed considerable popularity: lyre player and kobzar Mykhailo Hrechkin, bandura player Yurii Yezhel, and the Balamuty band, the ‘troyisti muzyky’ (triplet musicians). They presented their musical instruments at a separate stand, performed on the main stage and held a workshop on old-world dances.
The guests were also impressed by the evening stage of the Old-World Bohuslav. Performances by Gulyaygorod band, ‘Materia’ band, bandura player Svyatoslav Sylenko and Vitaliy Kalinichenko (‘VEREMIY’ band) delivered vivid musical emotions to our guests at the closing of the festival.
Please find more amazing moments of the festival in the Photo Gallery.
