The International Festival of Finno-Ugric Cuisine "Byg-Byg" is a great gastronomic event in Udmurtia, which will be held for the eighth time and traditionally on the first Saturday of July.
The festival "Byg-Byg" was born thanks to the international project "Cultural Capital of the Finno-Ugric World" in 2014. Thanks to the activity, talents and diligence of local residents, a small village from Russia, Starye Bygi, became the First ever cultural capital of the Finno-Ugric world! The award ceremony was held in the Finnish city of Helsinki.
Traditionally, the festival is attended by Finno-Ugric peoples living in the regions of Russia and abroad - these are Komi, Mari, Karelians, Estonians, Finns, Hungarians and others.
“Byg-byg” is said by the Udmurts when the hostess succeeds in baking - it is lush and soft. “Byg-byg” is said by the Udmurts when they want to praise the hostess. "Bug-byg!" not only the name of our festival, but also its slogan.
The main idea of the festival was and is to draw attention to the cultural heritage of the Finno-Ugric peoples through the promotion of culinary arts, vocal, choreographic, instrumental and arts and crafts.
The Byg-Byg Festival is a gastronomic holiday where one can not only taste dishes cooked according to old recipes, but also understand how strongly ancient traditions resonate in the life of modern Finno-Ugric peoples.
Traditionally, the following take an active part in the festival: amateur and professional cooks of the Finno-Ugric peoples, students; lovers of national cuisine; creative teams; tourists; public figures, journalists, bloggers from different regions of Russia and neighboring countries.
Every year the holiday changes its format. To date, there is a festival logo - a wooden shovel.
As part of the festival, we traditionally hold various master classes: “Noki shukkon” (an old way of whipping butter with tasting); for the preparation of baked goods; for the preparation of the traditional drink of the Sharkan region VARS, which can only be tasted in the village of Bygi!
But the most important indicator for us, as for the organizers, is that from year to year teams come to us who have already been participants in competitions within the framework of the festival. There are many tourists who come to visit us every year. So, our project is interesting!
The inhabitants of the village are not overjoyed at the changes in the appearance of the village. Every year a new object appears on the site: now it is a kenos - the home of the daughter-in-law.