IZUM, Ukraine – For the city of Izum in Kharkiv Oblast, located 502 kilometers east of Kyiv, festivals are a rare treat, so no wonder thousands of people flocked there to the “Road to the East” music and literature festival on Aug. 19.
The festival, organized by famous Ukrainian writer Serhiy Zhadan, brought to Izum poets and music bands from large cities such as Kyiv and Kharkiv, along with fellow artists from towns in Donestk Oblast controlled by Ukrainian forces.
“Izum is a city you always pass through when go to eastern Ukraine, so it’s symbolic that the festival “Road to the East” is being held here,” Zhadan said.
The city of 50,000 residents was indeed in a festive mood: people were walking with small Ukrainian flags and balloons in the city’s central park, where there was a fair of handmade goods and souvenirs, and a music stage where folk ensembles were performing.
Local officials and Zhadan also opened on Aug. 19 a new mural featuring The Beatles co-founder John Lennon on the city’s former Lenin street, which was renamed as Lennon Street. The mural was painted by artist Andriy Palval from Kharkiv.
The city’s Spartak cinema was turned into a stage for poets and music bands from various regions of Ukraine, while the main stage were located near the banks of the Siversky Donets River, with performances starting in the evening.
“To be honest, we didn’t know the festival was today – just were relaxing on the beach and spotted a stage, so decided to stay and listen to the music,” Izum resident Lilia Zaporochshenko said. “But of course, we’re happy that there is a festival – Izum is a small and quiet town, so artists and celebrities don’t often come here.”
One couple, Vitalina and Roman Kolyada, came to the festival from Kharkiv to listen to one of their favourite poets – Zhadan.
“My husband and I decided that we are going to the festival as soon as we saw Zhadan’s name on the ads on the internet,” Kolyada said.
“We love this kind of informal event – the pre-party was very cool. It’s not the same as listening to him (Zhadan) in some club in Kharkiv,” she said.
For rock band Smolova Gareleya from Slovyansk events like this are not only a way to attract more fans, but also to meet famous Ukrainian bands and their producers.
“We’ve performed at various festivals, but I think this one is cool because it gathers many interesting young bands. And, of course, you can approach stars like Tartak and show them your music,” said the band’s vocalist, Eduard Smolyakov.
Smolyakov said that in their native city Slavyansk they have few opportunities to perform live, so they decided to focus on recording their second album and creating new songs.
One of the festival’s other headliners, the well-known Ukrainian writer Yurii Andrukhovych, was in Izum for the first time.
“The problem of small cities not only in eastern Ukraine but across the country, is that residents of these towns feel abandoned because celebrities don’t come to them,” Andrukhovych said. “They feel that nobody is paying attention to them and it leads to depressive moods, dislike of their hometown and even may cause some crisis in life.”
“I hope that holding festivals in small cities like Izum becomes a trend,” Andrukhovych said.
