A Piece of Ukraine Takes Over Curitiba This Weekend: Free Folk Fair With Dance, Pysanky and Borscht
Weekend Agenda
Key Facts
- When. Saturday and Sunday, August 29-30, 2026 — performances from 1:30 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
- Where. Headquarters of the Grupo Folclórico Ucraniano Poltava, Água Verde, Curitiba — free entry.
- Anniversary. The fair marks 45 years of the Poltava group, founded in 1981 and now counting 300-plus members.
- Performers. Groups from across Paraná, Santa Catarina (Itaiópolis) and Posadas, Argentina, plus Curitiba’s Polish folk group Wisla.
- Food and crafts. Perohê, holubtsi and borscht; pysanky eggs, embroidery, woodwork and ceramics — with Ukra Bar, billed as Brazil’s largest Ukrainian restaurant, as a partner.
The 9th Poltavskyi Yarmarok, Curitiba’s Ukrainian fair, takes over the Água Verde neighborhood this Saturday and Sunday with free entry: folk-dance groups from Paraná, Santa Catarina and Argentina, UNESCO-recognized pysanky egg art, and family recipes like perohê, holubtsi and borscht.
Paraná holds the largest Ukrainian-descendant community in Brazil and Latin America — some 500,000 people, about 100,000 of them in greater Curitiba. This weekend, that heritage moves into the open: the 9th Poltavskyi Yarmarok fair, free for everyone.
A Fair With a Border-Crossing Cast
The Poltavskyi Yarmarok — ‘yarmarok’ means fair — gathers Ukrainian folk groups from across southern Brazil: Poltava and Barvinok from Curitiba, Tchóven and Soloveiko from São José dos Pinhais, Vesná from Mafra, Kalena and Fialka from União da Vitória, Viter from Guarapuava, Jettia from Antônio Olinto and Ukrainska Ducha from Itaiópolis in Santa Catarina.
The lineup crosses the border: Zirka and Vesely Chasy come from Posadas, Argentina, and Curitiba’s Polish folk group Wisla joins the program — a reminder that the region’s immigrant cultures grew up intertwined.
45 Years of Poltava
The host group, Grupo Folclórico Ucraniano Poltava, was founded in 1981 and turns 45 with more than 300 active members — the fair doubles as its anniversary celebration.
Group president Jairo Oscar do Nascimento frames the Yarmarok as the visible result of that work: traditions that crossed the Atlantic with immigrant families and kept being passed down.
Eggs Recognized by UNESCO
Among the crafts on display are pysanky (pêssankas) — eggs ornamented with wax-applied symbols, a technique inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2024.
Exhibitors also bring embroidery, wooden pieces, ceramics, porcelain and religious articles tied to Ukrainian and Polish traditions.
Ukraine on the Plate
The food side is built on family transmission: perohê (the Paraná spelling of pierogi), holubtsi (stuffed cabbage rolls) and borscht — recipes that arrived with families and became part of the state’s own food memory.
Partnering the event is Ukra Bar, which operates at the Poltava headquarters itself and is billed by organizers as Brazil’s largest Ukrainian restaurant.
Why Expats Should Go
Curitiba’s immigrant-heritage calendar is one of the city’s defining features, and the Ukrainian community is its largest pillar — this fair is the most concentrated two-day introduction to it you will get.
Everything is free, performances run both afternoons, and the Água Verde location is an easy ride from the center. Bring cash for the food stalls and craft tables.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ukrainian fair in Curitiba this weekend?
The 9th Poltavskyi Yarmarok, a free Ukrainian folk fair on August 29-30, 2026, at the Grupo Poltava headquarters in Água Verde: dance groups from Paraná, Santa Catarina and Argentina, pysanky egg crafts and traditional food like perohê and borscht.
Is the Curitiba Ukrainian fair free?
Yes, entry is free. Performances start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday, August 29-30, 2026.
Why does Curitiba have a Ukrainian fair?
Paraná is home to Brazil’s — and Latin America’s — largest Ukrainian-descendant community, around 500,000 people, with about 100,000 in the Curitiba metro area; the fair is hosted by the Poltava folk group, founded in 1981.
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Sources: Banda B; Grupo Folclórico Ucraniano Poltava.
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