The winners of the sixth Bilhorod Circus Fest from Bilohorodka have already performed in Zagreb, and on 1 October they will appear in Opatija on the Adriatic coast.

This was reported by the Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation, which helped organise the trip.

The tour has been built into a separate show, Dream Makers, made of the festival’s best acts. The young prize-winners now perform not as contestants but as artists representing Ukraine in Europe, the organisers write.

An acrobatic act from the Dream Makers showPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
An acrobatic act from the Dream Makers show

Where and when they perform

Three performances are scheduled in Croatia:

  • 28 and 29 September — Zagreb, Travno cultural centre;
  • 1 October — Opatija, Centar Gervais.
An act with gymnastic ballsPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
An act with gymnastic balls

Who paid for the trip

The foundation covered logistics for 33 young artists: back in mid-September it handed the children a certificate for UAH 330,000 for the tour. The trip is free for the performers themselves.

The organisers call this the festival’s main mission.

An opportunity a child has won with their talent should not depend on their family’s finances.

Bilhorod Circus Festfestival organisers
Young artists after an act with a hoopPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
Young artists after an act with a hoop

From Bilohorodka to Croatia

The road to an international stage took seven years. The festival was born in Bilohorodka in 2019, and last year its fifth, anniversary edition brought together more than a hundred children from across Ukraine.

Throughout these years the festival has been backed by the Bilohorodka village council. According to the organisers, this allowed it to “be born, hold on and grow” and eventually become an international project.

Tour partners presented before the show in ZagrebPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
Tour partners presented before the show in Zagreb

The Croatian stages were opened to the children by the Zagreb organisation Dobro Dobrim DoDo: its representatives saw the acts at the festival and invited the winners on tour. The Croatian partners call the shows a meeting of art, children, hope and humanity.

Bilhorod Circus Fest has become a place where talent sounds louder than the sirens.

The festival’s Croatian partnersDobro Dobrim DoDo

This is not DoDo’s first project in Kyiv region. In spring the organisation, together with partners from Belgrade and Sarajevo, raised money for a generator for the Kapitoshka kindergarten in Bucha, attended by more than 160 children every day.

The show’s performers take a bowPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
The show’s performers take a bow
Gallery5 photos
An aerial act with an umbrellaPhoto: Andrii Zasukha Charitable Foundation
An aerial act with an umbrella
1 / 5

As a reminder, the young circus artists received the certificate for the trip right at a training session in Bilohorodka.

Nota bene

Bucha FM is an independent news site and station for the Bucha district. We cover what matters to the community, and we work for you — and because of you. Joining the people who make this possible is simple: support us with any amount.

Support the station