Over 200 Participants Will Attend the Blacksmith Festival

З 5 по 7 травня Івано-Франківськ вп’ятнадцяте стане столицею ковальського мистецтва.

"In 2003, we wanted to declare that we exist, – says Polubotko. – We managed to establish cooperation, and this year we will hold the festival for the fifteenth time".

Over the years, blacksmiths from all regions of Ukraine have joined the festival.

"We started with just a few people. Now we have formed a blacksmith community, and even following our example, similar festivals have begun to appear in Europe".

Writer Nataliya Shcherba, whose fantasy cycle inspired the blacksmiths to create a fairy tower, says that the tower will be a medieval structure with a weather vane.

"I have already prepared explanations for each element. I have learned a lot about blacksmiths, and for me, this collaboration is very interesting. I think the tower will become a symbol of the city".

The tower will be visible from three sides, and people will be able to take photos with it and make wishes. The tower will be about 6 meters tall, and the clock will be 2 meters.

The anniversary Blacksmith Festival in Ivano-Frankivsk will take place under the motto "Time is on Our Side" inspired by the fantasy cycle "Chasodiyi" by writer Nataliya Shcherba, who lives in Ivano-Frankivsk. For three days, the city will be dressed in metal armor, shooting fiery sparks from its eyes and enveloping itself in a fairy atmosphere.

"Chasodiyi" is a series of books by writer Nataliya Shcherba, written in the genre of young adult fantasy. The main character of the series is a young sorceress Vasylina Ohnyeva, who finds herself in a special world where everyone can control time.

Festival participants traditionally gift the city a sculpture, collaboratively created over the three days of the festival. This year, the sculpture will be a fairy tower of the Ivano-Frankivsk Bastion inspired by "Chasodiyi".

The fantastic world of the six-book cycle "Chasodiyi" will be embodied at the Blacksmith Festival in the Bastion tower. During the festival, blacksmiths will forge fairy elements for three clocks that will be placed on the tower.

Viktor Vintonyak says that this way, Ivano-Frankivsk will gain another tourist attraction. After all, Nataliya Shcherba's books have a large number of fans worldwide.

"We give the blacksmiths only a verbal description of the elements, and they will choose how to depict them at their discretion, – says Viktor Vintonyak. – After all, all six books of "Chasodiyi" were published without illustrations. "Time is on Our Side" is an eternal philosophical theme about how to overcome time, how to stop it and master it. Also, for fans of "Chasodiyi", on May 6, there will be a photo and autograph session with Nataliya Shcherba".

Thus, the organizers hope for great attention to the Blacksmith Festival from numerous fans of Shcherba.

"There is a time circle that has 12 elements, – explains Nataliya Shcherba. – These elements will be created by the blacksmiths – keys, arrows, bat wings, fairy wings. For example, a golden key symbolizes the independence from time, a silver one – the struggle with oneself, as silver is a mirror. There are seven such keys".

In Ivano-Frankivsk, there has not been a full presentation of the author's books yet, although Nataliya Shcherba lives in Ivano-Frankivsk, and her "Chasodiyi" are successfully published abroad – in Russia, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Today, books are being prepared for release in the USA and Italy. So, the world of "Chasodiyi" will be presented in Ivano-Frankivsk for the first time.

The author shares that she has already written a fairy tale about the mirror of time and the tower of the Ivano-Frankivsk Bastion. However, the book will be released only next year.

"This fairy tale was born in Ivano-Frankivsk, – says Nataliya Shcherba. – It will be a sequel to "Chasodiyi", tied to our city. This can be presented interestingly".

Ймовірно, що казкова вежа буде не єдиним втіленням "Часодіїв" у Франківську. Віктор Вінтоняк додає, що є ще ідея створити в парку ім. Шевченка зону за мотивами фентезі.

"У нас є ще один чудовий проект, пов’язаний з часом - сонячний годинник Сергія Полуботька. І його продовженням може стати проект "Час на нашому боці", - каже Вінтоняк.