An international festival of ethnic music Kraina Mriy, or The Land of Dreams, took place for the 12th time in Kyiv on June 20-21. This year it was located at the outdoor Museum of Folk Architecture and Life in Pyrohovo, a neighborhood in the southern outskirts of the city.
Many people came to the festival wearing vyshyvanka, an embroidered Ukrainian shirt
as informal dress code of the event is traditional Ukrainian cloth. Women often
added wreaths of flowers to their festive outlook. Bright outfit along with
music, fair of folk crafts, master classes and tasty food created a special
atmosphere the festival is famous for.
There were 40 different festival locations including literature
scene, Crimean Tatar valley, Japanese valley, ethno fashion and ethno floristic
zones, a scene of contemporary bandura,
a Ukrainian traditional instrument, and Balloon Festival.
Music performances could be heard at three different
locations – World
Music, Ethno Jazz and Disco Lounge stages. Headliners of the main World Music stage
during the first day of the festival were Ukrainian bands ТNМК and Bumboks. Second
day at the main stage finished by the performance of Oleh Skrypka, a founder of
the festival, and his band “Vopli Vidopliasova.”
Skrypka’s song “The Land of Dreams” gave the name of
the festival and became its unofficial anthem. Usually it is performed at the
end of the festival.
