Kupala Brighton
@kupalabrighton.bsky.social
31 followers 31 following 28 posts
A cultural project inspired by Brighton's Ukrainian midsummer festival https://kupalabrighton.org/
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Nature, belonging, and drones in the night: moments from our conversation at the edge of a wetland in the middle of Ukraine kupalabrighton.org/trubaitsi.html
Vladyslava Bondar standing at the edge of the boloto, or wetland, that borders the village of Trubaitsi, in the central Ukrainian region of Poltava oblast, August 2025.
Reposted by Kupala Brighton
marekkohn.bsky.social
A siren on the audio tracks and Cuyahoga playing in my head as I edited this #R.E.M.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
'I heard the air siren from the nearby village, and that was a really surreal experience, because you know that place where you grew up, running with friends, swimming in the river, herding cows, going for walks, and then that surreal sound …'
youtu.be/oB_HOjDeUyQ
Trubaitsi: the sounds of war reach deep into the Ukrainian countryside
YouTube video by Kupala Brighton
youtu.be
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
The sounds of war just reached deep into the Polish countryside too. Surreal experiences are often previews of a new reality.
#Poland #Ukraine
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
'I heard the air siren from the nearby village, and that was a really surreal experience, because you know that place where you grew up, running with friends, swimming in the river, herding cows, going for walks, and then that surreal sound …'
youtu.be/oB_HOjDeUyQ
Trubaitsi: the sounds of war reach deep into the Ukrainian countryside
YouTube video by Kupala Brighton
youtu.be
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
'I heard the air siren from the nearby village, and that was a really surreal experience, because you know that place where you grew up, running with friends, swimming in the river, herding cows, going for walks, and then that surreal sound …'
youtu.be/oB_HOjDeUyQ
Trubaitsi: the sounds of war reach deep into the Ukrainian countryside
YouTube video by Kupala Brighton
youtu.be
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
also on Spotify
audio-only: Apple, Amazon podcasts
YouTube has English subtitle option
Reposted by Kupala Brighton
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We travelled to the Ukrainian village that is the deep inspiration for our project, and talked on the edge of its wetlands: about nature, childhood, imagination, the sounds of war in the air, and why places must not be stolen from people.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_X...
Trubaitsi: wetland spirits and night spirits in a Ukrainian village
YouTube video by Kupala Brighton
www.youtube.com
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We travelled to the Ukrainian village that is the deep inspiration for our project, and talked on the edge of its wetlands: about nature, childhood, imagination, the sounds of war in the air, and why places must not be stolen from people.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vx_X...
Trubaitsi: wetland spirits and night spirits in a Ukrainian village
YouTube video by Kupala Brighton
www.youtube.com
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
All these brilliant performers, and we'll be there too! Looking forward hugely to the Summer Fusion Festival at the Jubilee Library in Brighton, Sun 7 Sept, 11 – 3, free, all welcome!
bestfootmusic.net/2025/07/10/s...
Flyer for Summer Fusion Festival, Jubilee Library, Brighton, 11–3 Sun 7 September. Performers billed: Cohesion Plus Bhangra Fusion, Kapil Seshasayee, Suna Alan – Kurdish folk songs, Ukrainian Voices Choir
Reposted by Kupala Brighton
marekkohn.bsky.social
A week ago I was eating grapes from a Ukrainian kitchen garden (= small farm in UK city terms) and thinking I should follow the example in my own small way back home
so ... rose hip syrup (too early, but best I can do)

soundtrack: The Ukrainian Shelf 5: Food
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwOD...
Picking dog-rose hips in Brighton garden
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We made it, 2700km from Brighton to the birthplace of Kupala in the middle of Ukraine! We’ll tell you all about it when we’re back in the UK
Vlada and Marek at the boloto (wetland) near where Vlada spent much of her childhood. Vlada’s got blue hair and looks like a nature spirit. Marek is very excited. There are blue skies, a forest and meadows on the background.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We made it, 2700km from Brighton to the birthplace of Kupala in the middle of Ukraine! We’ll tell you all about it when we’re back in the UK
Vlada and Marek at the boloto (wetland) near where Vlada spent much of her childhood. Vlada’s got blue hair and looks like a nature spirit. Marek is very excited. There are blue skies, a forest and meadows on the background.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
'Every Motanka I make is a quiet storyteller of our homeland and our hopes for the future.' Hanna Mariienko on what making traditional #Ukrainian motanka dolls in Sussex means to her and her community. kupalabrighton.org/motanka.html
Hanna Mariienko teaches how to make traditional Ukrainian motanka dolls at the Kupala midsummer festival in Brighton, 2023.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We found a new place to celebrate Kupala this midsummer, and wrote a new piece to accompany it as well 🌿

kupalabrighton.org/kupala25.html
A New Place | Kupala
A New Place
kupalabrighton.org
Reposted by Kupala Brighton
nfsengland.bsky.social
Head to our website to read our latest guest blog. This time we hear from @kupalabrighton.bsky.social to learn how this Ukrainian midsummer festival has got underway in Brighton since refugees began arriving in 2022.

www.nationalfolkloresurvey.co.uk/news/kupala-...
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
We talked about your arguments at our Kupala gathering yesterday. The point about lack of documentary evidence was well taken, though the point about inference from cross-European ritual similarities was also made.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Pagans set wheels on fire and rolled them down hills at midsummer in 4th-century France. More recently Ukrainians did the same with car tyres 🔥☀️🔥
folkhorrorrevival.bsky.social
🌞 Happy #Solstice all! Hail, the God of the Sun! 🌞

🖼️ 'Solstice of the Sunflower' by Paul Nash (1945)🌻
A stylised landscape painting of rolling hills with the Sun overhead. On the right is a gigantic sunflower head.
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Thanks for noting the diasporas ☀️ For Ukrainians, the significance of Kupala is contemporary as well as pre-Christian 🌿
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
As it's Rusalnyi Week, when #rusalka spirits come out of water, and sea-themed #FolkloreThursday, we'd like to point out it's a myth that rusalky are #mermaids. Key differences:

Fish-tails: mermaids✅ rusalky❎
Complex, tragic backstories: rusalky✅ mermaids ❎

More: kupalabrighton.org/rusalnyi.html
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Since it's Rusalnyi Week, when #rusalka spirits come out of water, we'd just like to point out that rusalky are❗️not #mermaids❗️Key differences:

Fish-tails: mermaids✅ rusalky❎
Complex, tragic backstories: rusalky✅ mermaids ❎

More info: kupalabrighton.org/rusalnyi.html
#MythologyMonday
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Dangerous spirit alert ⚠️ Today is the start of Rusalnyi Week, when #rusalka water spirits emerge onto dry land. They can be deadly, so
⚠️ Keep away from rivers, pools etc
⚠️ Also fields
⚠️ Put bread, milk, shirts out for them
Stay Rusalka-Safe! #folklore
kupalabrighton.org/rusalnyi.html
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
It's Trinity Sunday, and here's a priest in #Ukraine blessing people who have brought greenery to the church. They'll also put branches around their homes, to protect against spirits from before Christianity arrived. kupalabrighton.org/rusalnyi.html #folklore
Rusalnyi Week | Kupala
The Start of Summer
kupalabrighton.org
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
Then flowers and fire at Midsummer, Kupala, and water too ☀️🔥🌿🌼
mattpope.bsky.social
Happy Beltane! Rise to meet the sun wherever you are, then don't stop rising.
Remember to say it with flowers and fire.
🔥🪻🔥🌷🔥🌸🔥🌹🔥🌺🔥
Illustration of a female figure with arms raised framed by a garland of flowers. Text says "A Garland for May Day 1895"
Reposted by Kupala Brighton
kupalabrighton.bsky.social
If you'd like to spend some time with our local #Ukrainian community in #Brighton and show your support for them, come to Razom at the Rose Hill on Sunday 16 March, 2-6pm. Music, food, conversation, and now a visit from a Ukrainian author too 💙💛
Poster for Razom event at the Rose Hill, Brighton BN1 1JL, 2–6pm 16 March. An afternoon with the local Ukrainian community and friendsm sharing music, food and chat. Free entry