Black Sea Step Festival in Odesa brings together kobzars, rock and master classes

The Black Sea Steppe Festival will take place on September 5-7 in Odesa, bringing together different cultural communities and recreating ancient Ukrainian traditions. The program includes kobzar fairs, master classes, rock concerts and interactive locations for children and adults.

The history and idea of the festival, its cultural importance and behind-the-scenes interesting things were discussed on Inter TV . Insight with Viacheslav Bondar, the organizer and ideological inspirer of the event.

The annual Black Sea Steppe festival is to take place on September 5-7 in the center of Odesa. It is a three-day event that brings together several locations and formats: kobza steps, a cultural fair, master classes, locations from the Museum of Interesting Science and Kraina Mriy, a rock festival, and many other events.

According to Viacheslav Bondar, the idea for the festival originated back in 2013 as part of the projects of the 10 April NGO, which cooperates with the UN Refugee Agency. Initially, these were integration events for foreigners and internally displaced persons, where they could present their culture and communicate with locals. Gradually, the event evolved: in 2022, it was reorganized due to changes in the composition of the communities, and in 2023, the RIKA movement was created, a conversation and integration club that brought together refugee and IDP communities.

The name of the festival came about thanks to the support of the regional council and the Department of Culture: the word "Yedisan" was initially proposed,but the Black Sea Steppe was finally chosen, emphasizing the historical and geographical roots of the region. The first pilot event was held at the Golubiv dacha and brought together national communities of Odesa, IDPs and artists, including sculptor Oleksandr Semenchenko from Kherson.

Kobzar's steps have a special place in the festival. They were first held in Odesa in 2024, after a decades-long hiatus. Kobzars from Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, and local workshops are invited to participate. This year, the opening ceremony of the kobza movement will take place on September 5 at 16:00 near the monument to Ivan Franko, followed by free kobzarring along Ukrainian Heroes Avenue, and at 18:00 all participants will meet at the Gazebo in the City Garden for a joint concert and spiritual guidance.

The festival combines cultural, educational and sporting activities: on the third day, September 7, a Literacy Day will be held with the involvement of out-of-school education and master classes from the Se Sisters women's soccer team. Odesa will also host the third Southern Forum of National Communities, which combines traditions and modern initiatives of local communities.

According to the organizer of the event, the Black Sea Steppe is not only a festival but also a platform for sharing experiences, uniting communities from different regions and promoting Ukrainian culture. NGOs from Kyiv, Lviv, Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Mykolaiv are participating. The organizers and partners are the municipal enterprise Parks of Odesa, Mor Music Club, Park Hotel, Se Sisters women's football team, and many other local initiatives.

Bondar emphasized that the festival should demonstrate that Odesa can become a real city of festivals, where different art formats and cultural practices are combined, creating a platform for dialogue, creativity and spiritual development.

Odesa has also recently hosted the first PORT Literary Festival, which aims to become a new cultural center in the South of Ukraine. The program included more than 35 events. One of the main highlights was the musical and poetic performance United by the Sea, dedicated to the sailors who went missing in the spring of 2022.

Анна Бальчінос