A good chunk of our readers may not have heard of Kazantip, a legendary electronic festival held on the shores of the Crimean Sea in the Ukraine. But every year, fans of the two week plus dance party make their way to the self-proclaimed “KaZantip Republic” to party on the beach. With its own Constitution, criminal code, and PreZident, Kazantip is a bit like Nevada’s Burning Man Festival.
This year, info on the festival became muddied when a Portuguese businessman bought the “.com” domain. Taking advantage of the goodwill that Kazantip has made in the last twenty years, this identical festival has the same name, a similar lineup, photos lifted from the official site, and takes place over the same dates.
The official Kazantip in the Ukraine has nothing to do with this Portuguese ripoff. And ripoff may be the key word here. It costs nothing to make a fake website, collect information from people, and try and lift their money. It’s like someone trying to create a Bonnaroo Salt Lake City.
This isn’t the first time in the two decade history that a copycat Kazantip festival has sprung up. According to the founder, it’s happened at least eight times before — although the guy behind this year’s Portuguese festival was deemed the “winner of the assholes contest.”
As for the real KaZantip, it will take place as always in Popokva. This year the dates will be from July 31st to August 15th. Here’s the real website.