The Festival of folk art “YARMARYNKA” at the National Sorochynsky fair

Sorochynsky fair is the biggest popular event lasting a week in the village of Velyki Sorochytsi of Poltava region. It is a historical site of fairground Ukraine, intangible cultural heritage globally famous due to the Nikolai Gogol’s piece of work with the same name.

Big trade fairs had long been held in Ukraine. Many stories are dedicated to fair trading, funs and entertainments. These stories reflect all national peculiarities, incomparable traditions and habits, daily life and beliefs. The ordinary buying/sale turned into real fest. Fairs were favourite events in the monotonous life of Ukrainian peasants. There, at Ukrainian fairs, new artistic genres were born: puppet-show booth, sideshow, carousel, repertoire of which consisted of primitive heroic, satiric and everyday plays, as well as of mummeries, intermezzos, songs, dances, etc.

Nowadays, the National Sorochynsky Fair becomes a weekly center of Ukrainian art and culture where craftsmen, artistic groups and individual performers, collectives of national minorities from all regions of Ukraine are communicating and sharing their experience.

The Festival of folk art “YARMARYNKA” is held with an aim to develop professional and amateur art, safeguard and promote popular song, music, choreographic art and rituals, develop and support culture of national minorities, enrich national spirituality, discover bright, gifted and talented persons, establish close relations between artistic groups and separate performers from all over Ukraine.