What to Do in Kyiv on the Weekend of July 17–19: Atlas Festival, Concerts, Exhibitions, and Festivals

Atlas Festival, an animal adoption festival, gala concerts by the National Opera, a literary evening with Yurii Izdryk, and new exhibition projects — the upcoming weekend in Kyiv will be packed with events. We've rounded up the happenings worth leaving home for on July 17–19.

Atlas Festival

As last year, Atlas Festival will take place on the grounds of Blockbuster Mall. The three-day music festival will bring together more than 70 artists and bands performing across six stages.

The festival's headliners will be Monatik, Artem Pivovarov, and the band "Boombox" led by Andrii Khlyvniuk. The lineup also includes "Bez Obmezhen," "Zhadan i Sobaky," "Kurgan & Agregat," "Druha Rika," "Odyn v Kanoe," Latexfauna, MUR, Kola, Nikow, SadSvit, Otoy, Shugar, and other artists. A special highlight will be the first-ever performance in Ukraine by the Australian duo Breathe, known for blending downtempo and electronic soul.

Admission: UAH 2,450–5,500

AdoptMe Days Animal Adoption Festival

The 22nd AdoptMe Days festival, dedicated to finding families for shelter animals, will take place at the KIT Pavilion at VDNH. Organizers describe it as the largest edition in the project's history: around 400 cats and 300 dogs will be looking for new homes.

Visitors will be able to meet the animals, speak with shelter representatives, and learn more about responsible adoption. The program also includes lectures on first aid for animals, interactive zones, a photo area, a food court, and a relaxation space.

Admission: Free

Ukrainian Bread Festival

The National Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine will recreate traditions associated with grain cultivation and the harvest. The central part of the Ukrainian Bread Festival will feature the traditional zazhynky and obzhynky ceremonies, marking the ceremonial beginning and completion of the harvest.

Folklore groups from the Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Chernihiv regions will perform the rituals. The program will also include folk songs and meetings with bearers of local cultural traditions.

Admission: UAH 200

National Opera Gala Concerts

Two gala concerts will conclude the 158th theatrical season of the National Opera of Ukraine. The performances will feature the theater's leading opera and ballet soloists, choir, and orchestra.

The program brings together 21 opera and ballet excerpts performed during the season, including the overture to Zaporozhets Beyond the Danube, the adagio from the ballet Forest Song, the Queen of the Night's aria from The Magic Flute, the Habanera from Carmen, and Cio-Cio-San's monologue from Madama Butterfly.

Admission: UAH 600–1,500

"Kvitka Cisyk. Tribute" Concert

The Music Salon of the National Philharmonic will host a performance of original and folk songs from the repertoire of Ukrainian-American singer Kvitka Cisyk.

The program includes 15 compositions, among them "Prayer for Ukraine," "I Will Go to the Distant Mountains," "Song About the Rushnyk," "What a Moonlit Night," and "Two Colors." They will be performed by soprano Olha Chubarieva and the Divohrai Folk Instruments Ensemble.

Admission: UAH 400–500

"Zdybanka. 3 Years" Party

The Zdybanka project will celebrate its third anniversary with a major party at Keller Club. The music program will span two stages and feature 12 performers.

Polish electronic producer and DJ Some Guest will make his first appearance at Zdybanka. The lineup also includes Grid User, SVZZ, Rogauzh33, Ryndin, LiSantee, Cold Embrace, QKI:, DJ Sertraline, Zagorui, Rave Mysterio, and Buryi.

Admission: UAH 700–1,100

"Kherson. Shovkunenko. Saved" Exhibition

The National Museum "Kyiv Art Gallery" is displaying nine works by Oleksii Shovkunenko that were saved from being stolen during the Russian occupation of Kherson. In 2022, Russian troops removed 148 of the artist's 158 paintings and graphic works from the Kherson Regional Art Museum. A portrait of his wife, Oleksandra Vasylivna, remained because it had been hidden behind a large tapestry, while another eight paintings were undergoing restoration outside the city at the time.

The exhibition spans various periods and artistic directions of Shovkunenko's career. It includes landscapes, portraits of the artist's first and second wives, a portrait of pilot Kalenychenko, and the industrial landscape Azovstal. The project continues the collaboration between the Kyiv and Kherson museums and serves as a reminder of the losses suffered by Ukrainian museum collections as a result of the Russian invasion.

Admission: UAH 100–200

Cape Cod Concert

Cape Cod, the music project of Maksym Sikalenko, will perform a live set at Kureni Concertni. The program will feature the musician's best-known tracks as well as new material.

The concert will also include the single "Summer," recorded together with Jamala. The song, about closeness, memories, and a carefree feeling, will appear on Cape Cod's upcoming fourth album.

Admission: UAH 450–3,200

Vedalife 2026 Festival

Hydropark will host the two-day Vedalife 2026 festival, whose program combines music, lectures, and various practices for the body and mind.

The SKVO eco-space will host spiritual and body practices, mantra jams, and sound healing sessions. There will also be lecture halls, a spherical cinema, and a healthy food zone. Monokate will headline the main stage.

Admission: UAH 200–300

Literary Evening with Yurii Izdryk

A literary evening with Yurii Izdryk will take place on the terrace of "Vsi. Svoi." The writer will read his own poetry and prose live.

Izdryk's works combine personal themes, reflections on human relationships, and irony. The rooftop event offers an opportunity to hear them performed by the author himself.

Admission: UAH 490–990

"Joy" Exhibition

PinchukArtCentre continues to host Joy, a group exhibition by Ukrainian and international artists exploring the emotion that helps people persevere through difficult times.

The project is based on testimonies collected by marine Hlib Stryzhko from active service members and veterans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. These texts have been transformed into spatial installations and presented alongside artworks. The exhibition explores joy against the backdrop of war, as either a vivid or barely noticeable state that gives people the strength to move forward.

Admission: Free

"From Kremenets to Zalishchyky" Exhibition

The "Metropolitan's House" at the Saint Sophia of Kyiv National Conservation Area is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the architectural heritage of the Ternopil region and the challenges of preserving it.

The region's landmarks are presented through watercolor and graphic drawings, plans, and architectural sketches created during surveys conducted in 1949, 1954, 1958, and 1960. The exhibition also includes photographs by Viktor Lashchenko, taken in 1981 on commission from the State Construction Committee and preserved in the conservation area's collections.

Admission: Check with the museum

"Kyiv Guidebooks and Maps" Exhibition

The "Estate on Kudriavka" Museum is hosting an exhibition of antique guidebooks, tourist maps, and city plans of Kyiv dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

These publications appeared during a period of rapid urban development, when new streets, bridges, hotels, educational institutions, and tram lines were being built across Kyiv. The guidebooks helped visitors locate theaters, railway stations, restaurants, monasteries, and other city landmarks, while also providing practical information, including carriage fares. Today, these materials offer a glimpse into what Kyiv looked like and how people traveled around the city more than a century ago.

Admission: Check with the museum