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On August 18-19, Izium, a town in Kharkiv region (bordering Luhansk and Donetsk regions), will host a literary and musical festival “Road to the East”. At the event, you will be able to listen to modern folk music of Slobozhanshchyna and visit the Fair. (Slobozhanshchyna is a geographic region that includes parts of modern Sumy, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions, and partly Russia). Modern Ukrainian poets will perform at Spartak Cinema: Yuri Andrukhovych, Lyubov Yakymchuk, Artem Polezhaka, Oleksiy Chupa and Dmytro Lazutkin. “Tartak”, “The Vyo”, “Shana”, “Zhadan and the Dogs” will perform on the main festival stage. Visitors of the festival will also be able to see a play “Albert, or the Highest form of execution” with the participation of Yuri Andrukhovych. This was announced at a briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center by the initiator of the festival, poet, writer, and musician Serhiy Zhadan.
“The program was created for every taste. I think it will be interesting to local residents, first of all, and secondly to those who have never been to Izium. It is worth going there to see how remote from reality are these stereotypes about the East as an industrial, scorched zone. It is a very picturesque region. This region should be supported and developed,” noted Serhiy Zhadan. Izium is a place that used to be the border of the Cossack lands and is known for its Baroque cathedral.
The festival will also be held in the adjoining village of Ivanivka at “Fazenda Grape”. The initiator of the festival is Serhiy Zhadan Charity Foundation; the main partners are Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Kharkiv Regional State Administration and the city council of Izium.
“The ATO zone is very relative today. The entire Ukrainian east – Kharkiv region, Slobozhanshchyna, Sumy region could theoretically become, and even may become the ATO zone. To prevent this, we should go beyond the bounds of Luhansk and Donetsk region and develop the festival movement along the whole border. The influence of culture is extremely important there,” emphasized Dmytro Lazutkin, poet, festival participant.