The first author's song festival took place in Kirov in 1984. The listeners really liked it and began to take place every year, first at the Cosmos Palace of Culture, and then on the banks of the Bystritsa River, near the village of Basharovo. For the first four years, the festival was unnamed. It received the name "Greenlandia" in 1988.
In the early years of its existence, "Greenlandia", like many other festivals of that time, was held with the support of the regional committee of the Komsomol. For three days there was a tent camp on the bank of the Bystritsa. The festival program included a competition, concerts of guests and laureates. The jury in different years included Vladimir Lantsberg, Dmitry Dikhter, Elena Kazantseva and other famous authors and performers of bard songs.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many gatherings and festivals ceased to exist. Greenlandia is no exception in this sense. The break lasted eight whole years. The festival resumed its work in 1999 and since then has been held every year on the third weekend of July. The revival was initiated by the Kirov administration.
Every year the festival glade gathers tens of thousands of participants and spectators. Bardic song lovers come from different parts of Russia, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. There are also a lot of guests from abroad. Residents of Kirovsk spend their holidays here with their whole families. Fans of bard songs can listen to concerts of contestants and guests (for example, at the 2012 festival, guests of honor were Oleg Mityaev, Mikhail Treger, Andrey Kozlovsky).
Some come to the clearing just to rest. For them, the organizers arrange competitions in football, volleyball, armwrestling and other sports. Lovers of calm games can play chess. Conditions have been created for paintball players who can always hold their own tournament.
The organizers of the festival pay a lot of attention to children. There is a children's cafe in the meadow, games and contests are organized. At the 2012 festival, for the first time, they chose the symbol of Greenlandia - little Assol, which opened the guest concert.
Greenlandia has long ceased to be an exclusively bardic festival. A large festival glade is quite capable of accommodating everyone who likes active rest. There are tent camps for ecologists, tourists, students, and employees of Kirov enterprises often come to the festival in large groups.
