Such has never happened in Bohuslav before – and this is confidently confirmed by all the Bohuslav residents who attended the event “Portal through the Centuries: Ukrainian Army”. And guests from other cities and regions say that such a scale is typical for big cities and huge festivals! So the mission set by the organizers was accomplished.
‘Touching’ living history by visiting the locations of historical reenactors and experiencing the life of the Ukrainian army of the times of Rus, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. These locations were very popular among children. According to the reenactors themselves, it was very valuable that school-age children came to them with interest and wanted to see with their bare eyes what they had heard about in history classes and read in textbooks. After all, the reenactors brought a huge collection of replica weapons and equipment with them to Bohuslav!
The historical lecture hall provided an opportunity to learn more about the courage of the fighters for freedom and independence of Ukraine at different times and through the prism of Bohuslavshchyna.
And to immerse oneself in the world of authentic music and hear the live sound of bandura, kobza and lyre, as well as to join the real creation of a folk musical instrument – it was possible due to the musical instrument reconstructors!
Well, even more awaited the guests at Fairytale Island last Saturday! Throughout the day, visitors could see a variety of sites and exhibitions: the location of the modern army, where visitors had the opportunity to see how modern Heroes – the Armed Forces of Ukraine – train, prepare and live. This, in turn, is about the unity of the military and civilians.
Everyone had a chance to visit the site of the Ivan Bohun Kyiv Military Lyceum and see the educational exhibition projects about the history of the Ukrainian army. The exhibition “Warriors. The History of the Ukrainian Army” by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance included 20 stories about the history of military formations in Ukraine encompassing the times from Rus to the present. The exhibition took everyone back in time and allowed them to see what kind of uniforms and weapons Ukrainian soldiers used to wear in different periods.
In the meantime, the Centre for Military History Research of the Armed Forces of Ukraine presented the exhibition project “Modern Army through the Prism of the Past”. It told the story of the Ukrainian army from the military formations of the 20th century to the modern Armed Forces of Ukraine, which are taking part in repelling a large-scale russian invasion, and demonstrates the combat path of the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that have honorary historical names.
One could also meet the Plast members and learn more about how the organization, which was founded in 1911, functions today.
The bridge to the island, which in some way served as a portal to the Ukrainian army at different times, immediately opened to the guests and participants an exhibition of copies of flags of military formations of different times.
For the youngest guests, a whole children’s lawn was arranged for workshops, entertainment and quests, including those from the Smart Step educational and development centre. The rope park provided by the Bohuslav Patriot Sports and Tourist Club “Chystyi Prostir” (“Clean Space”) and the leaders of the clubs and students of the Bohuslav Centre for Children and Youth Creativity were very popular among the children. The kids were also frequent visitors to the interactive location of reenactors from the time of Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s Cossack Army and organized fencing tournaments there!
The museum trail led to the locations of the Museum of the History of Bohuslav Region, the “Around Us.UA” NGO, the Myronivka Local History Museum, and the “Medvyn. Uprising” educational initiative. Hetman’s puzzles with the history of Myronivshchyna were waiting for the guests; and as for Bohuslav, guests had the opportunity to see a collection of authentic items from the Centre for the Study of Local History, Folklore and Ethnography, as well as from the Museum of History of Bohuslavshchyna and private collections. The photo zone, where guests dressed up and took pictures in traditional Ukrainian costumes in the interior of a photo studio modelled after the early 20th century, was incredibly popular. And this was not the only photo zone at the event! For instance, guests could also take pictures at the photo zone “Ancient Bohuslav of the Bohuslav Cossack Regiment”.
The musical program touched everyone’s hearts, as it was full of various talents, Ukrainian traditions, and fortitude! The daytime stage included performances by the Tarashcha brass band “Harmonia”, the bandura ensemble “Vyshnevyi Tsvit” of the Bohuslav School of Arts, the folk amateur folklore group “Kolyada” and the members of the folk amateur chapel “Boguslavka” of the Bohuslav Humanitarian College named after I.S. Nechuy-Levytsky.
Enthusiasts who play traditional Old World instruments such as kobza, lyre, and bandura amazed and delighted the guests with their performances of Cossack and rebel songs performed by Yurko Kocherzhynsky, Ruslan Prorva, Yurko Slyusar, Tetiana Nikitiuk, and Mykhailo Grechkin.
Even the theatre was present at the event: a sketch based on the charity documentary “Normal Guys Roll Here” was presented to the guests by volunteers of a local theatre initiative.
The evening stage was opened with an impressive performance by the finalist of “The Voice of the Country” Margaryta Meleshko, and continued with the fantastic sound of the old world bandura from bandura player, singer and leader of the band “Sviatoslav” Sviatoslav Silenko and bandura in modern performance from the famous band “Shpylyasti Kobzari”!
And even more, during the event there was a traditional fair of local craftsmen, where one could buy original goods and thus support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as attend various amazing workshops. The guests, mostly children, were happy to join in the weaving of camouflage nets at the locations of the net clubs “Spiders” and “Bohuslav Witches”.
At the food court, in addition to a wide variety of specialties from local chefs, participants could try a traditional military dish, Cossack Kulish, cooked according to an old Medvyn recipe from the Museum of the History of Bohuslav Region, and taste Cossack fish soup, Shcherba. A picturesque view of the Ros River, which opened from the location, added to the special atmosphere.
“The event has fulfilled its mission in full,” says Victoria Oliynyk, co-organizer of the charity historical and educational event “Portal through the Centuries: Ukrainian Army”. “Several thousand people attended this event! It was important, that people came here with their families: many young people and children of all ages attended. All of them had the opportunity to learn the glorious military history of our country, have a great time and join an important cause – raising funds for the military.”
Moreover, we managed to achieve another important goal – portability and continuity. After all, the guests of the event noted that they really managed to travel back in time and see the entire glorious history and triumph of the Ukrainian army live! To realize that we have been free for centuries and were able to defend our freedom, liberty and independence.
The “Portal through the Centuries: Ukrainian Army” ended with a joint performance of the revived Sich Riflemen folk song ‘Oh, the Red Viburnum in the Meadow’ (Chervona Kalyna) by all the artists and guests. This is also very symbolic. After all, our strength on the way to victory is in unity!
Please find more photos in our photo report from the event.
