Rusali

Rusali is an immersive cultural experience rooted in Ukrainian Green Week traditions — a space between nature and myth, with ritual singing, workshops, and quiet reflection in an atmospheric setting.

“Rusali” is a space of transition. Between day and night. Between reality and myth. Between human and nature.

It is an immersion into the traditional Ukrainian world of Green Week — not as a spectacle, but as a state of being, where ancient voices, scents, and symbols come alive. Green Week marks the end of spring — a threshold when nature reaches its fullness and the boundary between worlds becomes thinner. This is not reconstruction or folklore aesthetics — it is a living tradition, re-experienced in a contemporary context.

The festival includes:

• a music program featuring authentic ritual, Rusali, and Kupala songs;

• workshops rooted in tradition:

  • voice work through traditional singing practices;

  • divination as a reading of symbols and archetypes;

  • wreath-making with an exploration of plant meanings;

  • slow collective movement inspired by ritual processions (Kust, farewell to the rusalky);

• a quiet memory space dedicated to reflection on ancestry;

• a curated market with natural materials — dried flowers, wax, textiles, ceramics;

• a documentary screening on Ukrainian Green Week rituals (or a continuous visual installation).

“Rusali” is a cultural experience,
an intimate and slightly untamed space,
where memory grows from the earth,
and tradition breathes through the present.

Description of the programme

Het festival omvat:

• een muziekprogramma met authentieke rituele, Rusali- en Kupala-liederen;

• workshops geworteld in traditie:

• stemwerk via traditionele zangpraktijken;

• waarzeggerij als het lezen van symbolen en archetypen;

• kransen maken met aandacht voor de betekenis van planten;

• langzame collectieve beweging, geïnspireerd door rituele processies (Kust, afscheid van de rusalky);

• een stille herinneringsruimte gewijd aan reflectie op voorouders;

• een zorgvuldig samengestelde markt met natuurlijke materialen — gedroogde bloemen, was, textiel, keramiek;

• een documentairevertoning over Oekraïense Groene Week-rituelen (of een doorlopende visuele installatie).

About our event partners

Deze festival wordt georganizeert door koor Makivka (https://www.makivka.nl/), een oude vriend van Tolhuistuin, samen met Tolhuistuin, Vataha Foundation (https://www.vataha.nl/ ) en Stichting OekraienseClub Zaandam (https://www.oekraienseclub.com...).

VATAHA Foundation initiates and supports projects to spread Ukrainian art and culture in The Netherlands. By connecting Ukrainian artists with Dutch cultural producers and international audiences, we build bridges between cultures and create opportunities for creative Ukrainians.

Location