On 05.09 - 06.09.2026 in Kyiv Open-Air Museum Pyrohiv will be held Aeneid Fest - the polyphonic festival where Ukrainian culture will sound to the fullest.
The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine will become a place where Aeneas will step off the pages of the book "Aeneid" by Ivan Kotlyarevsky with Didona, Pysar and Jura.
Aeneid Fest is in the open air festival among authentic Ukrainian architecture with attractions for its visitors:
- Music - from ancient baroque tradition to powerful modern sound.
- Theater - plays, performances and live meetings with the heroes of the “Aeneid”
- Gastronomy - old-world dishes, fair flavor and Ukrainian cuisine which you will hear about at lectures and you will also be able to taste something delicious at our festival
- Crafts and traditions - a fair, master classes, folk crafts and living intangible cultural heritage
- Lectures and literary events - about Ivan Kotlyarevsky, his era, Ukrainian life and the “Aeneid” itself
- Photo zones, festival locations and many reasons to stay at the Pyrohiv Museum for the whole day
Aeneid Fest Program
05.09.2026, Saturday
1. Museum Entrance Group
09:00-20:00 - Art Installation "Tree of Life" (Observation Deck), Opening at 11:00
10:00-18:00 - Exhibition "The Secret of the Poltava Shirt"
2. Singing Field Main Stage
11:00-18:00 - Craft Fair
11:30 - Grand Opening of the Festival, Performance of the Folk Dance Ensemble "Barvinok"
12:00 - Aeneas Welcomes the Festival Participants
12:30 - Performance by the Etnogen Band
13:30 - Awarding of the Winners of the National Competition "Independence Pie"
16:00 - Performance by the Ancient Ukrainian Music Group "Khorea Kozatska"
17:00 - Performance by Khayat
18:00 - performance by the group "Tin Sontsya"
3. Literary Square (exhibition "Middle Dnieper Region")
10:00-18:00 - book fair
11:00 - lecture "Modern Reinterpretation of Ukrainian Baroque Architecture" by Oleg Volosovsky, Vira Zinchenko, Kostyantyn Kofta (school)
13:00 - discussion "Founding Fathers", guest: Volodymyr Maslychuk
15:00 - performance by the music and theater group Dakhtrio
15:30 - interactive lecture-workshop from the National Museum of the History of Ukraine "The Pen in the Era of the Saber. Written Culture in the Zaporozhian Army" (administration)
4. Tavern (exhibition "Middle Dnieper Region")
Lectures by Vadim Nazarenko and Olena Romanenko
12:00 - Fair in Old World Ukraine, what could be bought in the time of Ivan Kotlyarevsky
14:00 - "God broke and gave to us", bread in the diet of Ukrainians
16:00 - "Pig's head with horseradish, and noodles for a change, then with turkey leg", what the inhabitants of Poltava region ate on holidays in the 18th-19th centuries
5. Crimean Land (exhibition "South of Ukraine")
11:00-17:00 - Fair of Crimean Tatar crafts, food court with Crimean Tatar food and coffee, zone for getting acquainted with the project of creating a Crimean Tatar quarter, multimedia zone
12:30 - Lecture by Gulnara Abdulayeva "Crimean Khanate: State, Society, Culture"
15:00 - Lecture by Emil Mamutov "Crimean Khanate and Hetmanate: Unions, Wars and Diplomacy"
6. Kherson Windmill (exhibition "South of Ukraine")
10:00-16:00 - Meeting with a Miller
11:00-16:00 - Bread from the Open Fire Oven
14:00 - Baking of "Independence Pie"
7. Kobzar Manor (Chumak's House, exposition "Poltava Region")
12:00-14:00 - workshop on creating old-world kobzar musical instruments, presentation of the kobzar-lyrny tradition by Igor Bezverbny, Eduard Drach, Vitaliy Kobzar
8. Children's location in the Poltava Garden (exhibition "Poltava Region")
11:00-17:00 - location with wooden games from "Dumkohrai"
12:30-13:30 - interactive program for children
14:00-15:00 - program "Root Tales"
15:00-16:00 - traditional children's games and entertainment
16:00-17:00 - interactive program for children
9. Fair Square (exhibition "Polissya")
11:00-17:00 - folk art fair, presentation of elements of the intangible cultural heritage of Ukraine
10. Chess tournament (exhibition "Polissya", Yarivtsi)
11:00 - opening of the chess tournament
17:00 - completion of the chess tournament, awarding of the winners
11. Mykolaiv Church (exhibition "Polissya")
11:00-17:00 - exhibition of ancient costumes of the Baroque era from the project "History with taste"
14:00 - performance of the academic choir Anima
15:00 - concert of Liatoshyinskyi Capella
12. Bukovina (exhibition "Carpathians")
15:30 - performance "Where it is drunk, there it flows" from the Kyiv Academic Theater of Ukrainian Folklore "Berehynia"
06.09.2026, Sunday
1. Museum Entrance Group
10:00-18:00 - Exhibition "The Secret of Poltava shirts"
14:00 - presentation of the publication "General Description of Baturyn" by Natalia Rebrova and Natalia Sayenko (administration)
14:30 - performance by kobzar Taras Dorotsky
2. Singing Field Main Stage
11:00-18:00 - craft fair
16:00 - musical and plastic performance "Aeneid" by the veterans' theater
17:30 - meeting with the main characters of Kotlyarevsky's "Aeneid". Performance by the folk folklore ensemble "Gromitsya"
18:00 - performance by the Kozak System band
3. Literary Maidan (exhibition "Middle Dnieper Region")
10:00-18:00 - book fair
10:00-16:00 - Mazepa's residence from the National Reserve "Hetman's Capital" (administration)
11:00 - theatrical performance "Aeneas visited Mazepa"
12:00 - lecture "Ukrainian goldsmithing of the Baroque era" from the National Museum of the History of Ukraine (administration)
13:00 - discussion club with Rostyslav Semkiv (school)
4. Tavern (exhibition "Middle Dnieper Region")
Lectures by Vadym Nazarenko and Olena Romanenko
12:00 - tavern in Ukrainian life and culture
14:00 - what was the traditional cuisine of the Poltava region and what's left of it today?
16:00 - "According to military custom, having drunk tea with vodka". What drinks did the heroes of Ivan Kotlyarevsky's "Aeneid" drink
5. Crimean land (exhibition "South of Ukraine")
11:00-17:00 - fair of Crimean Tatar crafts, food court with Crimean Tatar food and coffee, zone for getting acquainted with the project of creating a Crimean Tatar quarter, multimedia zone
11:30 - theatrical performance "Aeneas visited Crimea"
11:40 - lecture by Elmira Ablyalimova "Crimea as a topos in the paradigm of mythologems"
15:00 - lecture by Murat Suleymanov "History of Islam in Crimea"
6. Kherson windmill (exhibition "South of Ukraine")
10:00-16:00 - meeting with a miller
11:00-16:00 - bread from the oven by Open Fire
7. Kobzarskaya manor (chumak's house, exposition "Poltava Region")
12:00-14:00 - presentation of the kobzar-lyrnytsky tradition by Taras Dorotsky, Vitaliy Kobzar, Dmytro Radchenko
8. Children's location in the Poltava garden (exposition "Poltava Region")
10:00-16:00 - location with wooden games by "Dumkohray"
12:00-13:00 - interactive program for children
13:00-13:35 - performance "Ukrainian reprises" by the Independent Puppet Theater "Ravlyk"
14:00-15:00 - interactive program for children
15:00-15:35 - performance "Ukrainian reprises" by the Independent Puppet Theater "Ravlyk"
15:30-16:00 - traditional children's games and entertainment
9. Fairground (exhibition "Polissya")
11:00-17:00 - folk art fair
13:00-16:30 - performances of folklore groups "Kralytsia", "Rozhanytsia", "Yagilochka", presentation of the Khymrodny nativity scene
10. Mykolaiv Church (exhibition "Polissya")
11:00-17:00 - exhibition of ancient costumes of the Baroque era from the project "History with Taste"
12:30 - singing with a violin from the project "History with Taste"
14:30 - performance of the ancient music ensemble of Konstantin Checheni
15:30 - master class on studying baroque dances
11. Bukovyna (exhibition "Carpathians")
14:00 - performance "Ukrainian evenings" from the Kyiv Academic Theater of Ukrainian Folklore "Berehynia"
12. Prince's Courtyard (exhibition "Middle Dnieper Region")
12:00-15:00 - Dido's Feast:
- theatrical performance "Aeneas at Dido's" (with the participation of Rimma Zyubina, Les Zadniprovsky, Serhiy Kalantay, Anatoly Hnatiuk, Yevhen Pykhtin, Ensemble "Gromytsia")
- presentation of the book "Old World Cuisine of Ukraine"
- master class on cooking borscht from "Brizoll"
- cooking according to "Aeneid": master class on cooking capons from Alik Mkrtchyan
- refreshments
Kyiv city bus №58 runs from the metro station "Exhibition Center" to the central entrance of the National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine.
The festival is implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Welcome to Kyiv for the Aeneid Fest!
Organizers of Old Car Land 2026
National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine Pyrohiv, Ukrainian Cultural Foundation
National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine |
