Festivals in Lviv

Ethnovyr. The First International Folklore Festival is fresh new, introduced in summer 2008. Nothing of this kind has ever taken place in Lviv. This parade of cultures gathers bands from all over the world in our city – not just Slavic teams from Czech Republic or Poland, but also participants from more exotic countries such as Senegal, Martinique (France), Palestinian Autonomy, India, Taiwan, Cyprus, and many others. This particular event stands out by being a dance festival – and familiarity with this art of plastique, movement, and harmony is so limited. Expressive dancing miniatures combine folk traditions with ancient temple dances and energetic modern styles. Musical traditions of faraway countries are represented by unusual, wondrous instruments. The spectators are guaranteed to get vivid impressions and experience the unique flavours of national cultures.

“Krayina Mriy” in Lviv. Folk music festival “Krayina Mriy” in Lviv (Dreamland in Lviv) takes place in the open-air museum Shevchenko Hay (Museum of Folk architecture and life) and gathers together ethnic music lovers. National embroidery suit is the entrance pass for the festival. Obvious part of the festival is a concert of famous Ukrainian and International bands. An essential part of this event is a craft-trade fair, where blacksmiths, craftsmen, embroiderers, weavers and others folk masters demonstrate the process of manufacturing unique artifacts. The visitors of festival also taste gruel and honey, and other traditional folk dishes. The young ones have a good time on the lawn, where they can paint, clay model, study folk dances and sing

International Theatre Festival “Golden Lion” (Zolotyy Lev) – a week of street carnavals and chamber performances of professional Lviv and European theatre. The Golden Lion is not just a street festival, but a European theatrical tradition, and one of the most prestigious forums of Ukraine. It was founded in our city back in 1989. Since that time, it has been transforming the streets of Lviv into a theatre every October, granting vivid impressions and creating a feeling of a true carnival. Every evening the square before Lviv Opera House turns into a stage for free-of-charge performances and street carnivals: stilts parades, mime and clown shows, fireworks, and a spectacular fire show that can leave no one indifferent. Another event, more of a chamber type, takes place at the same time: theatrical performances inside the theatres of Lviv. Among them are performances of world renown as well as opening nights presented by Lviv theatres. Teams from Ukraine, Poland, Austria, France, Germany, Slovak Republic, Russia, Belarus, Czech Republic, and other countries participate in the festival. The Golden Lion is a true international theatrical art event – diverse and unique, as any theatre should be.

International Festival “Jazz Bez”. Jazz Bez International Festival that takes place every year in Lviv is no trivial event for the jazz movement. Now the festival has also been joined by other Ukrainian and Polish cities – Sevastopol, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Lublin, and Jaroslaw. This means than a new tradition has been born and is developing in Lviv, and that just in a few years the festival has managed to achieve its main goal – to cross the borders between the countries, musical styles, and age groups. However, Lviv remains both the organizational and ideological centre of the festival. In 2008, eighteen bands from twelve countries of the world paid their visits to our city, those countries being: USA, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Sweden, Great Britain, France, Russia, Romania, Italy, and Ukraine. Jazz Bez has secured itself a solid place in European jazz ratings, bringing down borders and uniting thousands of music fans from different countries every year.

International Music Art Festaval “Virtuosi”. Every year, the Festival, which can already boast almost a thirty-year-long history, gathers a record-breaking number of world-level music stars. Every concert is a truly significant event.
The high art of classical music is presented by virtuosos both from all over Ukraine and other countries such as Germany, USA, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Great Britain, and Austria.

The Virtuosos posters list not only well-known soloists, but also renowned conductors and bands. Many concerts are organized conceptually, such as Tango Leopolitano – The History of Tango by iconic Argentinean composer of the 20th century Astor Piazzoli. This festival allows us to view even well-recognized composers from a totally new perspective. A magnificent solo program and traditional orchestra art await the grateful audience.

International Festival of Modern Music “Kontrasty”. Festival of modern music popularizes compositions of modern Ukrainian and world composers since 1995. All those who wish may listen to new compositions of young and eminent composers, may denote and feel new tendencies of academic music.

Christmas in Lviv. Lviv has always been noted for its adherence to the traditional Ukrainian culture, and that is why the celebrations of Christmas in Lviv surrounded by a special charm here. The people of Lviv cherish the customs of the past, but they also like new kinds of entertainment stylized to resemble the archaic ones. In Christmas time, carols can be heard in Lviv for almost an entire month, Nativity plays are performed in the streets, and a multitude of holiday concerts, fairs and festivals takes place. Here one can buy traditional Ukrainian outfits and get one’s filling of Christmas goodies, among which pampukhs (doughnuts) are the most popular and tasty. Preparing and eating pampukhs became such a favourite among the people of Lviv that it transformed into a separate event – the Pampukh Feast. During this festival, the bakers of Lviv amaze everyone with their products baked by old recipes, while local residents and guests can go back to childhood (if only for one day) and deny themselves nothing!

Coffee Feast. Lviv has always been famous as the city of coffee; it has its own traditions of preparing and drinking coffee. Back in 1683, Franz-Yuri Kulchytsky from Lviv founded the first coffee house in Vienna which was also one of the first coffee houses in Europe. The city festival of coffee has been promoting the coffee culture of Lviv since 2007. During the festival, everyone can take a tour through the coffee houses of Lviv that participate in the contest and taste the special "festival" coffee. On this day, all participating establishments prepare coffee of exclusive grades and by exclusive recipes to create a true celebration in honour of the world's favourite drink. Everyone can taste the coffee and vote for the best coffee-house. In some cafeterias poets conduct a literary reading, which is part of the coffee-drinking tradition.
The main square of the city hosts a fair of coffee and coffee-ware, barista, a theatre competition performances in the streets and concerts of retro music, and a jazz concert. The festival takes place in september-october. www.coffeefest.lviv.ua

Day of Chocolate. What is meant by “Chocolate joy Lviv-style”? You will never find out unless you attend our second Chocolate Festival. At the very beginning of spring, all forms of chocolate will sweeten the mood of all our residents and city visitors. In Lviv, everyone drinks, eats, and offers chocolate. Lvivers are proud of their chocolate products; they admire chocolate; they enjoy it; they dream about it; they offer lavish chocolates to friends and loved ones; and they include chocolate in their daily projects and their general life-style. It is only in Lviv, the sweetest city in Ukraine, that chocolate has a very special name – “Chokoliada”. The celebration program includes: “Chocolate in the Yummy Rynok Square” with real chocolate fountains, the longest chocolate cake in the world, master-classes in preparing chocolate, tasting sessions, a masterpiece factory called “Chocolate Sculptures”, concerts performed by music groups, and various drama and theater associations. www.shokolad.lviv.ua