ZhARA Festival

How to Stop Being a City Dweller for Three Days

“ZhARA” is a festival where tents and campfires remind us how humans lived for millions of years.

We live in concrete boxes, commute to work in metal boxes, and spend our nights looking into the plastic boxes of our phones instead of gazing at the stars. Yet, throughout the million-year history of humankind—with the exception of only the last few thousand years—people fell asleep beneath the open sky, woke to birdsong, and danced to the rhythm of drums.

Our longing for that kind of life has never disappeared. It has simply been buried deep beneath layers of mortgages, deadlines, and phone notifications. That is why, at least occasionally, each of us needs to escape the concrete anthill and spend a few days as our ancestors did: beside a fire, beneath the stars, among people who have come for exactly the same reason.

Once a year, ZhARA gives us that opportunity. The festival takes place midway between Ottawa and Toronto, in a peaceful lakeside setting where people can finally relax and feel connected to nature and to one another.

The fifth annual ZhARA Festival was held from July 3 to 5, 2026, at Stoco Lake Lodge near the town of Tweed, Ontario. A lake, a forest, and spacious clearings—it is a setting that seems to have been created for three days away from the noise of the city. This year, hundreds of people arrived from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Kingston, and the United States.

The drive from Ottawa takes several hours, but as soon as you approach Stoco Lake Lodge, you realize that everyday life has been left far behind. Traffic jams and work calls are replaced by tents, guitars, laughter, familiar faces, and music from the stage. Many people meet only here, once a year, so festival reunions often feel like one enormous family gathering.

I come here every year and have watched the festival grow and improve. Several years ago, it was essentially a large outdoor concert with tents and campfires. Today, ZhARA has become a prominent cultural event where music is joined by art, sports, dancing, and workshops—and everyone can create their own weekend program.

Music from Morning Until Almost Morning

Live music remains at the heart of ZhARA. Performers took turns on several stages throughout most of the day. By evening, the concerts grew louder and more emotional, and after the official performances ended, the music moved to the tents and campfires. Someone would inevitably bring out a guitar, listeners would gather around, and the songs would continue long past midnight.

The variety of genres grows wider every year: Russian rock, blues, art rock, singer-songwriter music, hits from several generations, and unexpected cover versions. The ZhARA 2026 stage featured BEAT Happens, LostBerries, Volkodrom, Hill Billy Creek, Anasthesia, DVD, Navigator, «Артышок», «Хочу Пони», Derev, R Rated, and many other bands—too many names to remember them all. Anasthesia’s covers of Zemfira’s songs drew a particularly large audience: spectators recognized them from the very first chords and sang along across the entire field.

The musicians overcome considerable distances and difficulties to perform at the festival. Some bands prepare their programs while their members live in different cities and rehearse by video call. One guitarist even travelled from Boston to play.

Ottawa Band BEAT Happens Makes Its ZhARA Debut

For residents of our city, one of the festival’s highlights was the debut performance by Ottawa band BEAT Happens. The group is led by its vocalist and founder, Regina Teplitskaya. The audience welcomed our musicians so warmly that, after the very first songs, it was clear that their debut was a success.

Regina connected with the audience instantly, while the band delivered exactly the kind of energy that brings people to summer festivals. Spectators danced, sang along, and sent the musicians off with prolonged applause.

BEAT Happens did more than represent Ottawa with distinction—the group became one of the festival’s discoveries.

Performances like this remind us just how talented Ottawa’s Russian-speaking musical community is. We have plenty to offer audiences from Toronto and Montreal.

A Festival Where It Is Impossible to Be Bored

While sound equipment was being set up on the stages, life was buzzing throughout Stoco Lake Lodge. During the day, the lake became the main attraction, offering swimming, boating, kayaking, paddleboarding, and fishing. A mobile sauna was also available, making a plunge into the cool lake especially refreshing.

Sports games, yoga sessions, and dance workshops took place on the lawns. Participants learned bachata, while practically the entire festival joined in to master the syrtaki. Laughter therapy was another special success: many people came out of curiosity and left feeling as though their abdominal muscles had received a full workout. Other workshops ranged from creative activities to body and movement practices.

Saturday’s main adventure was Zukaland’s “Olympus at ZhARA” program. A costumed Toga Party brought dozens of ancient Romans to the field, dressed in togas, laurel wreaths, and golden sandals. This was followed by the humorous “Games of the Gods” and a foam disco. Once again, the organizers created a space where adults could forget their jobs and social status for several hours and laugh as freely as though they were back at summer camp.

The mass syrtaki was equally spectacular. At first, only the bravest dancers stepped into the circle. Then more and more participants joined them, and within minutes the entire square was dancing. Moments like these cannot be written into a script. They emerge from a shared mood and remain in our memories the longest.

Festival food was also an important part of the celebration. The aroma of shashlik drifted across the grounds, catering was available, and new groups of people constantly gathered around the tables. Meeting someone at ZhARA could not be easier: simply ask who is currently performing, and five minutes later you will already be discussing music, moving to a new city, and plans for next year.

The organizers did not forget families with children. Creative activities, games, and sports entertainment were available for younger visitors, allowing parents to enjoy the concerts without worry.

A Night Illuminated by Flames

The most impressive spectacle on Saturday evening was the fire show by Stas Velikolepny. After darkness fell, the festival grounds were transformed: music, the night sky, and fire reflected in the eyes of the spectators.

The performance combined circus skills, choreography, and fire artistry. Fiery patterns flashed in the darkness and vanished instantly, only to be replaced by new ones. At one point, it seemed that the Firebird—the symbol of the festival—had truly come to life and flown above the field.

The audience stood in a tight circle, yet during the performance it became remarkably quiet: no one wanted to miss a single trick. This was perhaps the most vivid visual memory of this year’s ZhARA—bold, energetic, and slightly magical, just like the festival itself.

A Place of Trust

ZhARA’s greatest quality, however, cannot be found in the schedule or on the poster. It is the special way people relate to one another here. They readily ask for help, share tent pegs and food, help carry belongings, and assist in finding friends who have wandered off.

In a big city, we become accustomed to keeping our distance. At the festival, that barrier disappears within a few hours. Someone you meet for the first time near the stage in the morning may be sitting beside you around a campfire by evening.

“You Leave Physically Tired, but Remarkably Rested Inside”

That is why ZhARA is not simply a series of concerts, but three days of psychological renewal. Dancing, the forest, the lake, songs, new friendships, and permission to be carefree restore your energy better than many ordinary weekends.

Over five years, the festival has developed a community of its own. People come not only for the music, but also to meet those who understand its unique atmosphere.

The organizers announced that the festival, in its familiar format and under its current name, may be reaching the end of a particular chapter. The Firebird, however, is not saying goodbye: a renewed concept and new projects lie ahead. Judging by the way ZhARA has grown over the past five years, this is not the finale, but the beginning of a new chapter.

From the Festival Stage to Ottawa

A continuation of our summer memories awaits us this fall. The Toronto band «Хочу Пони», which performed at ZhARA 2026, will come to Ottawa for the first time.

The concert will take place in Kanata on Saturday, October 3, 2026, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Instead of a large concert hall, it will be an intimate house concert, featuring live music, close conversation with the performers, and the atmosphere of a gathering among friends.

The evening will be organized as a potluck, with guests bringing a dish, appetizer, or dessert to share. After the main program, there will be a traditional guitar circle.

Perhaps this evening will become a small continuation of our summer ZhARA—this time, closer to home.

Returning after three festival days, I caught myself thinking the same familiar thought once again: waiting an entire year until the next gathering is far too long. But it is worth the wait. The body remembers grass beneath the feet, campfire smoke, and the rhythm of a drum better than any stargazing app ever could.

Author: Yuri Natchetoi