Chernivtsi Day 2026 in Tel Aviv: maritours, forshmak, Bukovina stories and dances – October 4

On October 4, 2026, the “Day of Chernivtsi 2026” will be held at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. This time, the organizers offer to get to know the city not only through its history, old photographs, and stories — but also literally by taste.

Author: R.Verter

The evening program includes a story about the culinary traditions of Chernivtsi, tasting of dishes characteristic of Bukovina, a quiz with prizes, dancing, photographs, and fundraising for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The event is being prepared by “Historical Arsenal: Meetings and Lectures with Iryna Sakhno” together with the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. These same venues have already held events in Israel dedicated to Chernivtsi.

In Tel Aviv, the Day of Chernivtsi will be celebrated on October 4 — the same weekend when the city itself traditionally celebrates its birthday. In Chernivtsi, City Day falls on the first Saturday of October and is associated with the first written record of the city on October 8, 1408.

What was eaten in Chernivtsi and why the city’s cuisine turned out the way it did

One of the central parts of the evening will be a gastronomic excursion by Iryna Sakhno.

Throughout its history, Chernivtsi lived at the crossroads of Ukrainian, Jewish, Romanian, Austrian, Polish, and other cultures. States and borders changed, languages on the streets and rules of city life changed — but recipes remained in families, mixed, and passed from neighbor to neighbor.

This is exactly what the organizers propose to talk about on October 4: how the large and rather complex history of the city was reflected in the most ordinary Chernivtsi plate.

And then the theory can be practically tested.

The tasting of dishes is prepared by a native of Chernivtsi, Halyna Doskalyuk.

One of them is mariturs. For the Israeli reader, the word may sound unusual: this is what they call an assortment of homemade pickled vegetables — cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and other seasonal vegetables in Bukovina. This is not a restaurant reconstruction, but a quite lively home tradition that is still preserved in the region.

There will also be Chernivtsi forshmak. In Israel, most readers probably don’t need an explanation of what forshmak is, but the Chernivtsi version has its own local tradition. The organizers promise to serve it with homemade sourdough bread from Halyna.

Another dish is kapronova babka, which guests of previous meetings could already try. This is one of the dishes of the modern Bukovinian gastronomic tradition, which is also found in stories about the cuisine of the Chernivtsi region.

Not just food

The evening will not be limited to just mariturs.

A separate story for the guests was prepared by a Chernivtsi native, Olexander Gusak. The organizers call him an intellectual from Chernivtsi and promise a separate story about the city.

Then — a quiz with prizes. So knowledge about Chernivtsi, Bukovina, and their traditions may come in handy right on the spot.

After the conversational part, the program will become noticeably less academic: Roman Zots is responsible for the dances, and Tatiana Gur will be taking photographs of the evening.

During the event, there will also be a fundraising in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Why Chernivtsi is so recognizable in Israel

For Israel, this story is not foreign at all.

Chernivtsi was one of the important centers of Jewish life in Bukovina. In 1908, the famous Chernivtsi Conference on Yiddish was held here, and Jewish culture was a natural part of city life for decades, alongside Ukrainian, German, and Romanian.

After World War II, many natives of Bukovina ended up in Israel. Along with them, family stories, music, and, of course, recipes moved here.

NANovosti has already detailed the history of the city and why Chernivtsi and Israel are much more connected than it might seem at first glance.

Therefore, the current evening in Tel Aviv is a story not only for those who were born in Chernivtsi or once lived there.

NANovosti — News oNANovosti — News of IsraelTel Aviv. The new format noticeably shifts the focus towards gastronomy: the city is offered to be remembered through dishes, homemade bread, old recipes, and conversations at the table.

October 4 — another date in the city’s history

The date of the event also has an interesting historical coincidence.

It was on October 4, 1875, that the solemn inauguration of Chernivtsi University, founded by Emperor Franz Joseph, took place. Subsequently, the university became one of the symbols of the city.

At the same time, the organizers themselves in the published announcement do not associate the choice of the event date with the anniversary of the university’s opening, so it is more correct to speak of a coincidence rather than a reason.

What will happen on October 4

So, the program of the “Day of Chernivtsi 2026” in Tel Aviv includes:

— a story by Iryna Sakhno about the culinary history of Chernivtsi;

— tasting of dishes by Halyna Doskalyuk;

— Bukovinian mariturs;

— Chernivtsi forshmak with homemade sourdough bread;

— kapronova babka;

— a story by Olexander Gusak;

— a quiz and prizes;

— fundraising for the Armed Forces of Ukraine;

— dances with Roman Zots;

— photography by Tatiana Gur.

Date: October 4, 2026.

Place: Ukrainian Cultural Center in Tel Aviv.

Event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/2057065661602232/

The organizers invite not only natives of Chernivtsi. The evening is open to everyone interested in Bukovina, the history of the city, Ukrainian and Jewish culture — or just wants to finally find out what mariturs are and why after the first one you usually want to take another.