Ethno Bazaar in Ashdod: an event where cultures meet without borders
What can break people who have gone through wars, exiles, losses, and learned to live again? The Ukrainian community in Israel answers simply: nothing. With this mindset, the festival “Ethno Bazaar” is being prepared in Ashdod — a two-day celebration of cultures, traditions, music, crafts, and live human interaction.
On May 15–16, 2026, Matnas “Dune” in Ashdod will become a place where different communities can present the culture of their countries, tell about themselves through music, language, dance, creativity, cuisine, crafts, and a family atmosphere.
For Ukrainians and Ukrainian Jews in Israel, this event has a special meaning. It’s not just about the fair, stage, and beautiful performances. It’s also a way to show: even in the reality of modern wars, anxieties, and heavy news, people continue to live, create, rejoice, support each other, and preserve their identity.
Why this is important specifically for Israel
Israel is a country where people with different languages, traditions, family memories, and historical experiences live side by side. Here, people from Ukraine, Morocco, Georgia, Ethiopia, France, Argentina, countries of the former USSR, the Middle East, and Europe meet. Therefore, the idea of a multinational festival in Ashdod sounds not like a decorative slogan, but as a natural continuation of Israeli reality itself.
“Ethno Bazaar” is declared as the first multinational cultural festival of its kind in Israel. Its meaning is to show not the competition of cultures, but their coexistence: when each community can speak with its own voice, yet remain part of the common Israeli space.
For the Ukrainian community, this is especially important now. Ukraine continues to live in conditions of war, and many Ukrainians in Israel simultaneously carry two realities: the pain for their country of origin and daily involvement in the life of Israel. That is why such events become not just a celebration, but a gentle form of cultural resilience.
In this context, NAnovosti — News of Israel | Nikk.Agency sees the “Ethno Bazaar” festival not only as a weekend poster but also as an important public signal: culture helps people not disappear in news anxiety, but remain visible, active, and connected to each other.
Ukrainian culture as part of the Israeli mosaic
The Ukrainian community in Israel invites guests not just to look at the stage or walk between the tables of craftsmen. The idea is broader: to come, feel the atmosphere, hear the language, see the traditions, meet familiar faces, and discover other communities.
Ukrainian artists, craftsmen, musicians, performers, and families bring with them not only national symbols. They carry the experience of a people who have gone through trials for centuries but continued to sing, embroider, build houses, raise children, pray, argue, laugh, and create.
For Ukrainian Jews, this connection is even deeper. The history of Jewish life in Ukraine is a story of cities, towns, communities, synagogues, tragedies, rebirth, family routes, and new life in Israel. Therefore, the participation of the Ukrainian community in such a festival is not a separate ethnic showcase, but part of a larger story about memory, aliyah, identity, and the future.
What awaits guests at the Ethno Bazaar
Organizers describe the festival as a journey through different countries without the need to leave Ashdod. For families with children, new immigrants, residents of southern Israel, and everyone interested in the culture of different peoples, this can become a bright and lively event in mid-May.
The program includes:
- a craft fair with unique handmade items;
- presentation of cultures of different countries and communities;
- live music and performances by artists;
- dances, traditions, and the atmosphere of a real ethnic festival;
- familiarity with the history, tastes, and soul of different peoples.
This is not a dry exhibition format, where the visitor simply passes by the stands. According to the organizers’ plan, “Ethno Bazaar” should become a space for communication — with music, movement, a family mood, and a sense of celebration, where children can see different cultures in a lively form, and adults can feel a connection to their roots or discover something new.
A celebration for the whole family
A special emphasis is placed on the family format. Admission is free, the event takes place during the day, from 10:00 to 16:00, which is convenient for parents with children, elderly guests, and those who want to come without complex preparation.
Ashdod is very organically chosen for such an event. It is a city with a strong community life, a large number of Russian-speaking and Ukrainian-speaking Israelis, an active cultural environment, and a noticeable presence of immigrants from different waves.
The festival can become a place where people come not only to “watch the program” but also to meet: with friends, neighbors, fellow countrymen, artists, craftsmen, families who are also looking for not only safety in Israel but also a space for culture.
The main meaning: we cannot be broken
The phrase “We cannot be broken” in this context sounds not like a poster, but as a human condition. Ukrainians, Ukrainian Jews, and many other communities in Israel know well what it means to live between memory, war, relocation, anxiety, and hope.
But that is why culture becomes important. It does not cancel the pain and does not close eyes to reality. It gives people language, music, gesture, song, craft, and celebration — what helps them remain themselves.
“Ethno Bazaar” in Ashdod is an invitation to come with the whole family, invite friends, and become part of a vibrant cultural event. For some, it will be a rest for the soul. For others, a meeting with Ukrainian culture. For others, an opportunity to see how many different worlds live within Israel.
And perhaps this is the main answer to the question of what can break us.
Nothing — if we continue to live, create, and be together.
Where and when the festival will take place
The “Ethno Bazaar” festival will take place in Ashdod — a city where multilingualism, aliyah, family stories, and cultural diversity have long been part of everyday life.
Main event details:
Date: May 15–16, 2026
City: Ashdod
Place: Matnas “Dune”, KKL 90
Hebrew name of the venue: מתנס דיונה י- יג
Time: from 10:00 to 16:00
Duration: 2 days
Admission: free
Format: family celebration for children and adults
Event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1898209807548519/
Event organizers: Anna Yantovskaya and Regina Mor.
The project is presented as #ARTELL_EVENT & Yantovskaya Art-hall presents.