If you think Ukraine is for seasoned tourists who are into history and culture, think again.
The young and daring from all over Europe will converge for a raucous electronic music party and sports championship at the annual KaZantip festival in Crimea in August.
More than 100,000 revelers are expected to attend this annual rave culture fest in Popovka village. KaZantip has everything from dancing to windsurfing. With the festival grounds sprawled perfectly across sandy beach fronts, they make for a great vacation alternative to crazy Ibiza parties.
KaZantip’s French ambassador, Benjamin Kazan (L) presents new beach bungalows on July 15.
KaZantip is steadily gaining clout among foreigners, especially French and German, said French ambassador for the festival, Benjamin Kazan.
“It’s not just about music and deejays, it’s like a [separate] country with its own constitution, president, ministers of finance, happiness, dance and rave, etc.,” said Kazan, 33, who’s been a festival regular for five years. “The closest you can compare it to is the Burning Man festival in America. But in Europe, there’s no alternative for our five-week long music drive.” Responsible for converting the French youth, he expects some 3,000 foreign party seekers in Ukraine this summer.
Kazantip came of age this year, turning 18. It has evolved from being a small dance party for 400 windsurfers to a popular international music venue. Surfer Nikita Marshunok, now Kazantip president, first set up his speakers and windsurfs on the site of an abandoned nuclear power plant in Shchelkino village in 1993. But following the wind and hassle from authorities, his music gathering had to change a few sites before settling near Yevpatoriya.
One of the main rules of the KaZantip festival is having no rules at all. Exactly this liberal approach once earned a bad reputation for the festival. It was degraded to a sort of a paradise for hippy-like vacationers who want to reduce the world to sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. Crimean authorities tried to ban the event several times, accusing the organizers of promoting a drug culture, but never managed to kill the rave.
On a mission to clear the name, KaZantip founders promise a major upgrade. First of all, “KaZantip is now back to its sports roots,” said Kazan. This year’s program will be divided into three parts: a week of extreme sports competitions, two weeks of techno, house and trance music and an after-party during a final week in the festival’s VIP zone called MarZ.
The very first extreme sports championship called Z-Games will feature wakeboarding, kite surfing, jet skiing, skim boarding, frisbee and break-dancing. Athletes from Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Italy, and the Balkans will compete for Hr 200,000 as the main prize.
If you are not so much into sports, come for the electronic music festival starting from Aug 1. Some 300 international DJs, including Carl Cox, Lee Jones, Ricardo Villalobos, Marco Carola, DJ Mixon will entertain for two weeks. To escape the crowds, join the VIP party during the last week of the festival. For that you need to secure special MarZ tickets in futuristic beach bungalows introduced at KaZantip only this year.
There are only 20 of them, and they surely look like small cosmic capsules with air conditioning, heaters, showers and electricity. “Until this year there was no hotel [on the grounds],” Kazan said who designed some of the space-looking rooms himself. The rent is pricey though, and costs Hr 2,000 per night. But designers say they are built to last and feel cozy even at -15C or 40C outside.
To enjoy KaZantip, you must have a special visa. It costs Hr 150 for the sports week only. For the music part of the program, prepare to pay up to Hr 1,500, exclusive of accomodation. Cheaper rooms can be found in the nearby villages or Yevpatoriya if you don’t mind a 20-minute drive.
For those who can’t afford either type of a visa, there is an option. KaZantip’s symbol is a groovy old-fashioned yellow suitcase. If you can make one on your own, the doors will crack open for free.
For more information about the festival go to www.kazantipa.net and z-embassy.com
Kyiv Post staff writer Iryna Prymachyk can be reached at [email protected].
