ІІ. Regional and interregional festivals of Ukraine
Many Lemko festivals of interregional or regional significance take place in Ukraine every year. Among them the most famous are: «Barvy Lemkivshchyny» (Colors of Lemkivshchyna) in Poltava region, «Homin Lemkivshchyny» (Noise of Lemkivshvhyna) and «Pisny nezabutoho krayu» (Songs of the Unforgettable Land) in Lviv region, «Stezhkami Lemkivshchyny» (Paths of Lemkivshchyna) in Luhansk region, «Lemkivska Vatra» (Lemko Fire) in Transcarpathian region, «Klyche Zelena Nedila» (Green-Sunday Calls) in Ivano-Frankivsk region and others.
Festivals «Barvy Lemkivshchyny» (Colors of Lemkivshchyna) and «Stezhkami Lemkivshchyny» (Paths of Lemkivshchyna), are held in honor of Lemkos, thousands of whom were relocated to Poltava and Luhansk regions in 1944-1951. Festivals with interregional status have been taking place for more than ten years. In recent years, main venue has been Zinkiv (Poltava region) and Novoaydar (Luhansk region).
More about the festival in Poltava and Luhansk regions:
http://vistilug.com.ua/news/5861-na-luganshchini-vidbuvsya-yetnofestival-stezhkami-lemkivshchini/
https://locnt.com.ua/home/novini/584-ulemkivshchini.html
In the Lviv region, the most famous Lemko festivals take place in the villages of Gorodok and Nagirne. Gorodok village hosts an interregional festival-competition Pisny nezabutoho krayu» (Songs of the Unforgettable Land). It was founded in 2001 with the aim of identifying and supporting talented performers, popularizing, searching and reviving the Ukrainian poetic-song art of Zakerzon. Artists from different regions of Ukraine, as well as Poland and Slovakia take part in the festival. «Lemkivska Vatra» festival in the village of Nagirne has been held as a regional event since 2004. However, in 2015 it was decided to move it to the village of Zymna Voda near Lviv and hold it at the end of August under the name «Homin Lemkivshchyny» (Noise of Lemkivshvhyna). Close location to the regional center contributed to the growth of the festival's popularity and in 2020 the next (already VI) festival had to receive the status of all-Ukrainian, but its holding was hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.
«Lemkivska Vatra» in Transcarpathian region
In Transcarpathian region, the first «Lemkivska Vatra» was lit in September 2010 in the village of Zabrid, but later the festival found a permanent address in the village of Kostryno. The purpose of the festival is to preserve and develop the original folk art of the Lemkos, their customs and rites, as well as to popularize the tourist and recreational opportunities of the region and its inhabitants. The organizers of the first festival were the head of the Transcarpathian regional organization of the All-Ukrainian society «Lemkivshchyna» Vasyl Mulesa and state administration of Velykobereznyanska district.
Klyche Zelena Nedila» (Green-Sunday Calls) Festival
In the Ivano-Frankivsk region, the annual folk festival of Lemko culture «Klyche Zelena Nedila» (Green-Sunday Calls) was launched in 2006. Since 2011, the main venue was the village of Rivnya, where all events take place on the Fire Field (the territory of the recreation complex «Mikhailovа Kolyba»). The festival aims to revive, preserve and promote traditional folk art, the spiritual heritage of Ukrainian ethnographic groups (Lemko-Ruthenians, Boyks, Nadsyans, Kholmshchaks, Podlashchuks), who were deported from Poland to Ukraine in 1944-1951. Among other tasks: to improve social and artistic status of authentic folklore, to discover original creative art-groups, individual performers and masters of folk, fine and decorative arts of Lemkivshchyna and Western Boykivshchyna.
