Brustury kedrovytsia. The holiday, which had to be strong (PHOTO)

The festival "Brustury kedrovytsia" was held for the third time on Sunday, August 9, in the village of Lopukhiv in Tyachiv district. Actually, the place, which is truly difficult to get to, is often called by the old name – Brustury, and the village council even adopted the decision to return the historical name, but the only obstacle is problems with paperwork.

To promote the village as a potential tourism site (and views there are really breath-taking), the residents of the village organized this festival. As it goes, it is in honor of the local "flavor". Brustury kedrovytsia is a vodka infused in a special way with young, resinous cedar cones. On the territory, assigned to Brustury, there are three unique cedar reserves, and locals are proud of this and of the drink, which, they say, has healing properties. At the festival, guests only receive it as a treat, the local "treasure" is not for for sale. As a snack, they advise to take another "trademark" thing – Brustury smazhenyna, a rich and nutritious dish based on broth and cooked meat.  The alcohol and culinary component is the main hook of the festival, the rest is just a holiday.

And here, unfortunately, there were some problems. The only authentic things at the event were the kedrovytsia, some local dishes, as well as folk music and a bit of traditional merchandise at the exhibtion: from embroidery to products of carvers. In general, the festival has become a fair with Chinese merchandise, a concert, beer and barbecue, as well as a great deal of officialdom.

However, the desire to organize entertainment for villagers and tourists deserves respect. So, thanking for hospitality, we would ask next time to entrust the organization of the festival to people who know how to make a colorful holiday, and to pay attention to the format that would tell visitors about unique features of Brustury and the inhabitants of the land. 

Meanwhile, we offer you the atmosphere of the festival "Brustury kedrovytsia" through our lens…