More than two hundred participants of folklore groups from various countries of the world gathered in Lutsk during these hot July days. According to a good tradition, before the opening of the festival, a church service was held at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. Bishops Mykhail and Markiyan blessed the amateur artists and wished everyone spiritual joy, peace and love. In both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, prayers were also offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased Donetsk miners. In connection with this sad event, some changes were made to the festival program, in particular, its grand opening was postponed from July 21 to July 23. And so the colorful column of participants of this artistic event, with songs, music and dances, marches through the streets of the regional center to the ancient Lubart Castle, where Lutsk residents and guests of the city are already impatiently waiting for them. The festival's callsigns ring out. Representatives of delegations from the countries that came to the event are invited to the stage. In the ancient castle, the anthems of Ukraine, England, India, Spain, Turkey, the USA, and Thailand are heard. The guests were greeted by the head of the regional council Vasyl Dmytruk, deputy head of the regional state administration Stepan Rodych, the head of the culture department of the Lutsk city executive committee, the permanent director of the festival Yuriy Voynarovskyi. And the Lutsk city mayor Anton Kryvytskyi declared the IX International Festival "Polissian Summer with Folklore" open. The melodies of bells rang out in the ancient Lubart Castle. After that, the festival flag rose into the sky. The first to begin the festive concert were the hosts of this artistic event  the exemplary children's ensemble "Volynianochka." It is rightly considered one of the best children's groups in Ukraine. The dancers of "Volynianochka" have represented the center of our culture at international folklore festivals in Yugoslavia, Slovenia, Germany, Turkey, and the USA. Meetings with this group always bring viewers sunny joy from experiencing Ukrainian art. Hundreds of Lutsk residents gathered in the castle sincerely applauded the folklore group from England "Chameleonic Morris Men," the American "Rocky Mountain Dancers," and the traditional music and dance group "Xacarandaina" from Spain. The audience was charmed by the performances of the members of the ensemble "Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat," who came to us from Thailand. Stormy applause was caused by the fiery dances of the folklore group from the state of Punjab from India and the artists from Turkey (the "Hai-Fem" ensemble). And the first festival day was concluded by the exemplary folk dance ensemble "Radist" from Lutsk, one of the oldest children's dance groups in Ukraine, which turned fifty years old this year. Reference "Polissian Summer with Folklore"  a large-scale event in which representatives of 5 continents of the world participate. The festival participants are folklore groups proposed by the national sections of the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals (CIOFF), which operates under UNESCO, representing artistically processed, stylized or recreated authentic folklore of their countries. The first festival took place in Lutsk in July 1994. Over these ten years, folklore groups from 53 countries of the world have visited our regional center. It is precisely thanks to the festival that Ukraine was admitted to CIOFF. The president of the Ukrainian National Section of CIOFF is the head of the culture department of the Lutsk city executive committee, Yuriy Voynarovskyi.