The Brynza Festival in Rakhiv - one of the best festivals of Transcarpathia!

The Brynza Festival in Rakhiv, “Hutsul Brynza”, is rightly considered one of the most colourful festivals of Transcarpathia, opening the autumn Transcarpathian festival season solemnly and splendidly for several years running.

As is well known, Transcarpathia is renowned throughout Ukraine and far beyond its borders for the variety of its festivals. They take place with varying intensity throughout the whole year - in winter as well as in summer. The most popular, of course, are the wine festivals, held in different regions of the area. The wine festivals draw an enormous number of participants, guests and tourists. It is at these festivals that you can meet, in one place, all the finest winemakers of the region, who present their wonderful produce at the fairs.

But besides the wine festivals, which are usually accompanied by fairs and an entertainment programme, Transcarpathia regularly hosts other, quite special, thrilling and unforgettable festivals too! Perhaps most of them are not so heavily publicised or popular among tourists, and are set in locations that are not quite so easy to reach. That only makes them all the more appealing, colourful and worthy of attention. One could go on listing them for a very long time. Today we would like to draw your attention to one of them - the Brynza Festival in Rakhiv, “Hutsul Brynza”.

Hutsul Brynza is a kind of gastronomic, themed festival dedicated to Hutsul culture, Hutsul traditions and the Hutsuls themselves

By tradition, the International Hutsul Festival is held across the territory of the eight main districts of the former Hutsul region. Among them are Putyla, Vyzhnytsia, Yaremche, Verkhovyna, Kolomyia, Kosiv and Rakhiv. In the Rakhiv district, “Hutsul Brynza” takes place at the same time - a festival dedicated to brynza, as well as to the return of the shepherds from the high mountain pastures.

At “Hutsul Brynza” this year, various artistic ensembles from all over the so-called Hutsul region will perform, competing against one another in seven contest programmes - dance, music, song and theatre. Each region will be represented by ensembles who will present songs, dances and videos about dramatic works on Hutsul themes.

In addition, each region will present a separate exhibition of folk crafts, in order to showcase the creations of folk craftsmen in various genres of applied art. A scholarly conference is also planned, the main aim of which will be to discuss the pressing issues of the modern Hutsul region.

And, of course, the main part of the festival will be “Hutsul Brynza”, which is a large-scale celebration dedicated to the everyday life, traditions and culture of the Hutsuls. The festival is held every year on the first Sunday of autumn. This celebration is dedicated first and foremost to the return of the shepherds who, a few months earlier, head up to the high mountain pastures and come back only with the arrival of autumn. But it is also a festival that showcases the colour, the distinctiveness, the beauty and the hospitality of Hutsul culture. And indeed, on these days a very friendly, homely atmosphere reigns here, where everyone seems to be one of your own and long acquainted.

Needless to say, genuine Hutsul brynza, prepared in various ways, can be tasted only here. It is a product worth a thousand words of delight and a place in your suitcase, for once you have tried it, you will not be able to resist buying some! That is why we strongly advise you to plan a trip for early September right now and to spend it at “Hutsul Brynza” - see you there!