The square is jammed all over. Carts, Horses, cows, sheep, oxen, calves, pottery, crockery, hens, wool, sacks, hop, boots, sweets, honey cakes, kvass, beer, the Russian vodka, combs, leather, shawls, linen, tar, carpets, barrels, honey, herring, wheels, eggs, plakhtas(Ukrainian skirts), pies, lard, matting, trunks, nails, pigs, merchants, Gypsies, people, children, and blind men... Everyone and everything here is moving, breathing, smoking, shouting, bellowing, neighing, giggling, chewing, sighing, crossing oneself, swearing, vowing, cackling, hand-shaking, accordion and violin playing, drinking kvass, eating sea-roach, nibbling sunflower seeds, and roundabout spinning.... (OstapVyshnya, about popular fair in the 1920-es)

Fairs have always marked the highlights of Ukrainian folk life. Fairs attracted everyone - kids and grownups, craftsmen and merchants, whole families of farmers and lonely beggars, street musicians and guests coming from faraway lands. No fair could do without the Choomacks' salt carts (Choomacks - Ukrainian oxcart drivers). Peasantly and townsfolk would head there since the dawn and spend all days picking out goods, negotiating, bargaining, and just entertaining themselves at the little improvised stages scattered here and there about all the territory.

Fairs were also a place to negotiate on buying/selling real estate. Some citizens of a village could jointly purchase a tool for developing their crafts, or cattle. No father would come back from a fair and fail to bring presents to all of his family members. Fairs were a long-awaited holiday; a great chance to market one's products; a way to show-off, and to take a look at other people.

Everyone would dress up for the fair. Visitors were waiting for a chance to dance and sing together, and of course - to take part in noisy active games, entertainment tournaments, and outdoor performances.

Usually, fairs took place on religious holidays, and were given corresponding names, of course. Poltava had the famous Pokrovsky (Adoration of the Virgin) Fair; Troitsky (Trinity) Fair would be held in Kharkov; and Khrechensky (the Epiphany) Fair was annually held in Kyiv. Almost every significant town had its own fair, which would always be held on the appointed time. In the 19-th century, fairs were held 7-9 times a year in each large city; including fairs that would specialize on selling particular goods.

Because of the poor roads, people tended to gather for fairs on the most convenient time of the year - either in winter, when sledged horses would easily get the merchants to the place of the fair, or in summer (early autumn) time, before the rainy season started.

The Sorochinsky-Style Fair has been held annually in the Velyki Sorochintsy village (near Poltava) - and through years it's gained the popularity of the biggest Ukrainian fair. It would not become so popular, if it were not for the most famous 19-th century writer Mykola Gogol, who glorified the fair in his beautiful masterpiece of folk literature The Sorochinsky Fair. Since that time, the annual fair has grown into a nation-wide event.

This year, the Sorochinsky Fair is held from 16-th to the 20-th of August. One can find all possible goods there. The Fair masterly combines elements of old-style popular culture, and the exhibition of modern agricultural industry products. You can see lots of advertisement, and all sorts of marketing, based on the idea of the national patriotism.

The Fair owes its wonderful popular coloring and environment to the local craftsmen's produce. Long benches with ceramic bowls and jugs of all kinds; embroidered shirts, straw hats, baskets, wooden crafts, wrought iron goods, and piles of the most tempting foods would keep your attention all day long.

There are endless rows of little outlets with traditional foods, as well as cafes and restaurants serving dishes of national kitchen - varenyky with cottage cheese, galushki, pelmeni, pilav, holubtsy, borsch, etc. And, of course, lots of kvas (a non-alcoholic popular drink), beer, wines and horilka (Ukrainian vodka).

Dancing, singing and funny performances of artistic folk groups can be found everywhere. People socialize and communicate freely, no matter what their language, culture, age, faith or status is. The fair is truly a grandiose event.

Sorochintsy can't leave you indifferent. Come ant try it yourself next year.

And now, enjoy the pictures we took in Sorochintsy this year (go to the DU Picture Gallery, Sorochinski Fair Album)

Previous page:

Next page:

Top