Ivan Kupalo 2024

What a glorious midsummer evening we had in Melbury Abbas at the home of Sara Jacson!

It was to be a picnic to celebrate Ivan Kupalo and to be together whilst times remain difficult, especially for the community of Ukrainian guests.

A pyramid of profiteroles, with a cascade of chocolate and a cobweb of caramel. A remarkable centrepiece for the delicious Ukrainian picnic food that was shared amongst the 45 people present.

The festivities centre around a fire, a tree and water. With Pagan origins the events of midsummer became linked to traditional Christian celebrations of St John’s Day. Ivan Kupalo is an important festival for the people of Ukraine.

A special part of the celebration is the making and wearing of wreaths. Our dear friend Wendy Keith-Roach battled her way from London to show us how to bring greenery and flowers together into glamorous headwear.

We were able to make wreaths for everybody with a wonderful donation of flowers by Sprout and Flower of Mere

The fire is a focus, especially for the children who toasted marshmallows and much more.

The simple act of cooking together and sharing the food was an inspiration to us all. We especially look forward to the café that Mykhailo has now planned for his future.

Just catching that moment when a marshmallow is caramelised, but not on fire, is a skill for us all to learn.

Other skills could be learnt from the ingenious games that Anna Uskova dreamt up for all us children to play.

As dusk fell and the night drew to a close we were able to light candles to remember and float our wreaths into the clear spring water of the valley.

Thank you to Jamie Randall for some stunning photos, thank you to Sara Jacson for her venue, thanks to Derek and Ness who put in preparations behind the scenes, and thanks to Anna for organising the games.

Thank you all who came and made this such a beautiful event.