RLOPCUkraineBlog: Day of the Deruny (День Дерунів)

There was "Day of the Jackal", "Day of the Locust" and there was even the "Day of the Dolphin". But none of these movie titles prepared me for "Day of the Deruny" (День Дерунів). Yes, this is the seventh year in a row where the city for Korosten (Коростень) in northern Ukraine (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korosten) hosted the Festival of Deruny (https://discover-ukraine.info/events/central-ukraine/zhytomyr/2383) aka, potato pancakes, aka latkes. While I had heard whispers of this magic festival when I first returned to Ukraine last year, I did not dare to hope it was real. But as summer began to turn to autumn, the whispers became a deafening roar as more and more Zhytomyrites began shouting the praises of the impending pan-fried potato festival. I decided there was only one way to find out how wonderful...or not...this festival really was. This is what I found.....

As is always the case with long-distance traveling, my morning began with a trip to the bus station where I found my way on to a world-famous marshrutka for the ninety-minute trip to Коростень. Since I had heard of the festival's popularity, I thought I'd take an early marshrutka to avoid the crowd. Good idea as I actually got a seat! As the wheels began to roll on the maxi-bus I closed my eyes to be lulled asleep by the gentle roll of the wheels on the asphalt. Well, that was the thought, anyway. I did indeed close my eyes but that was to settle my stomach from the musty, greasy marshrutka smell. Any hope of totally falling asleep was soon dashed as the wheels thudded along the asphalt. I truly believe I was on the worst road in Ukraine. Yes, it was in one piece without any major potholes, but it was far from smooth. I was fortunate not to have eaten any tongue before getting my mitts on some deruny.

Fortunately, the trip was soon over and I arrived at a town...that was still setting up its festival. The festivities officially began at noon but when I got there at eleven, the vendors on the main street were still setting up their wares and the games and attractions were still being inflated/assembled. In hindsight, this was the perfect time to be there as it was still relatively quiet. So I wandered the main street until I came to the beautiful Sofiivska Park where the main festival was located. Here too, the vendors were setting up and cooking their deruny. I took the opportunity to sample a few of the pancakes. To be honest, once you have had one...or twenty, you get the main idea. But I did have a nice variant that was potatoes mixed with carrots and garlic. As I wandered the pathways, I admired the sounds and smells of delicious food being prepared. I must have wandered for quite some time for as I looked up, the park was getting quite full. And this was only the beginning! By the time I had walked the majority of the pathways, it was two o'clock and the music was starting and the crowds were pouring in. This is where my head began to swirl.

For someone who does not like crowds this was probably not the place to be. According to friends, last year's festival attracted over 25,000 people. Looking at the park on this day I had no doubt that the number was higher. In true Ukrainian fashion, people were wandering around and bumping into each other without so much as a thought. Luckily my time in New York City prepared me for this exact situation. But the sheer numbers of people, buoyed by alcohol and a punishing sun, made the situation a bit intolerable at the end. I think every single spot of grass or rock was taken up by a festival-goer. So in addition to having no place to walk, there was no place to sit. It was at this point, I decided to go home. Leaving on an earlier marshrutka was also a good idea. I was not jammed on with drunken deruny lovers, instead I got a nice seat for the bumpy ride home.

Overall, I was very happy to have attended the festival. The food was excellent and it was the perfect opportunity to see Ukrainians let loose and enjoy themselves. I saw many friends and students from the university and was able to enjoy the last of the summer weather. Some questions were left unanswered though; like, out of all the cities in Ukraine, why does Коростень host the festival? I'm pretty sure this was not the place where deruny first were created nor is there some international deruny cooking school in the city. I also wondered how they can keep holding this festival in this tiny park. It was way too small to hold such a large number of people. This was not helped by the Ukrainian tendency not to pay attention to where one sits or where one walks. I found I always had to be on my toes unless I wanted to get bowled over by an entire family. Finally, I wonder what will become of the festival in the future. I see some great possibilities for attracting an international audience. This would be one of those events that could be featured on a cooking/travel show. Perhaps there is something an enterprising Peace Corps Volunteer can do for this festival of deliciousness...I wonder who will answer the call?