Panic with profit!

The event emerged from a humorous Facebook post by journalist Tetiana Yaitska. In several weeks the joke turned into a festival with hundreds of participants and thousands of visitors. On the morning of March 21, crowds of students, couples with children, and elegant elderly ladies gathered outside the entrance to the State Aviation Museum, where the festival took place. Everyone was heading towards the gate: there, on spacious glades, under the wings of the Ils, Ans, and Yaks people with a sense of humor sang and strolled around in outfits styled from towels, and all kinds of craftsmen called to come and take a look at their goods.

Marriages of convenience were made at the festival; people traded, swapped stuff and, of course, learned how to save. Thus, fashion historian Zoia Zvyniatskivska gave a lecture “Say ‘No’ to Clothes for Money” in a cozy barn. The scholar showed photographs of bags made of tires, and dresses made of rubber gloves and trash bags. “Trash bags can be taken straight from dumps. Especially since in stores they are folded neatly, and lack the necessary richness of texture. All you need is one or two bags. You should be taking pictures! Otherwise, you might forget the way the dresses are designed,” Zvyniatskivska instructed.

“Plumber and psychologist” Oleksandr Svichkariov saved souls and faucets at the festival. He is an entrepreneur and an expert in plumbing. He gave advice on how to fix a faucet, clear a pipe in the bathroom, and remain in good temper while doing all that. “I have a calling to help people. The situation in the country is complicated, people seek plumbers’ help less frequently, and try to fix things themselves. I explain how to repair the plumbing at home. I can also listen, if someone needs psychological help. The quest for a good plumber, just like for true love, can take the whole lifetime. Faina Ranevskaya said that,” Svichkariov philosophizes.

All problems were forgotten at the Museum of Nostalgia. The exhibit stand was covered with photos, shoes, bags, makeup items, and various delicacies with price tags of a year ago, twice as cheap as they are now. The most vulnerable people could cry before a one-dollar note. Also, organizers displayed jars with various types of gasoline, “the gold of 2015.” One could smell it and again remember how much less it cost past year. Visitors were invited to relieve the stress by eating cakes made of carrots, cabbages, and onions.

“Unexpectedly, a large-scale event in one of the coolest locations in Kyiv, the Aviation Museum, emerged from a post on the web. The majority of Kyivites do not even know such a museum exists. And there are 70 models of planes and helicopters here, the institution is one of the top-10 aviation museums according to the CNN,” says Yaitska, ideologist and organizer of the festival “At the Bottom.”

The idea of a panic fest was taken on in various cities: on March 21, a similar event took place in Dnipropetrovsk. And masterminds of the event in Kyiv intrigue and say they will again entertain people “At the Bottom.” The festival’s Facebook page read: “Friends! We have thought hard all night about what to do next. We officially state that this event will be continued! And it will be certainly unexpected.”