Festival “Svitlychnyk”

For the second time, Chokolivka will host the cultural festival “Svitlychnyk,” dedicated to the memory of Ivan Svitlychny — a Sixtier, poet, translator, and cultural activist who lived in this neighborhood.

The festival grew out of a local initiative on Svitlychny’s birthday and has become a platform for conversations about cultural memory and communities. This year’s theme is “Connections and Networks of Interaction” — about how communities are formed, and how memory and heritage support us during wartime.

The program includes discussions, poetry readings, workshops, and music. Some events will take place outdoors: on the lawn near the house where Ivan and Leonida Svitlychny lived, in “Suputnyk” Park, and at the “Ostriv” platform.

This is a chance to join a tradition that began with informal home gatherings at 35 Umanska Street and continues to build bridges between generations.