The Treasures of the Grodno Region’ is interesting not only to Belarusians

You will be able to touch the culture of our ancestors, listen to the best folklore ensembles of our region, try dishes of our national Belarusian cuisine, immerse yourself in the life and lifestyle of the Belarusian people during this festival.

Lyudmila Barakhovskaya, the head of the methodical department of the district center of culture, tells about what expects the residents and guests of Smorgon at the next festival of traditional culture, ‘ The Treasures of the Grodno region" festival has gained fame both in our region and abroad. Guests from other parts of Belarus come here with pleasure. The traditional culture of Grodno region is extremely rich and has its own distinctive features. Exactly in our region all the handicraft techniques of weaving used to exist have been revived and continue their life. Our straw weaving techniques continue to attract attention. This year at the holiday in Smorgon the center of handicrafts from Masty will present braided weaving from grass gathered on the lakes and rivers banks. The participants of the festival will actually get to know the unique things that the masters of Masty will prepare.’

During the festival the program of the holiday ‘Guests on the doorstep - a holiday at home’ will be open. Each district prepares a backyard to present its distinctive culture: handicrafts, folk costumes, performing arts, local folklore and traditional dishes.

 After the grand opening of the festival a parade in folk costumes ‘Touch the origins’ will take place in the city amphitheater. After that there will be a concert of the best folk art groups of the region and, of course, a performance by amateur groups of the Smorgon region. A concert by the laureates of the regional festival of regional folklore "Panyamonnya life-giving springs" will be held at the folklore-interactive platform. The concert program will be completed by the headliner of the festival - the Bahach art group.

Lyudmila Petrovna noted the symbol of the festival is a belt. It is a link of time, an amulet, a symbol of life. The region in which the festival was held transfers the belt to the new owner who is granted the respectable right to held the festival. During the year he will be preparing his belt. At the opening of the event there will be a ritual of handing over the belt from the Svislach region to Smorgon one.

‘By the way, Smorgon was not chosen as a place for such a large-scale event by chance,’ Ludmila Barakhovskaya pointed out. The organizers have identified a region where a lot of work has been done to preserve and study traditional culture. As you know last year Smorgon  Naigrysh received the status of historical and cultural value. The role of the festival is not only to show the traditional culture of the region but also to glorify the place where the event takes place. We are sure that Smorgon will make a loud statement and show its original rich culture.

The organizers of the festival are sure that language, customs, traditions, knowledge and technologies were passed down to us by our ancestors from hand to hand, from mouth to mouth, from heart to heart, through the ages are like precious memory signs. They can disappear forever if we don't preserve them. We have to pass them to our children and grandchildren, from generation to generation.

‘ The Treasures of the Grodno Region’ can be of interest not only to Belarusians but also to residents of the neighboring countries . As you know citizens of Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have the right to visa-free entry to our republic until the end of the year. Therefore, our foreign neighbors have a wonderful opportunity to visit the festival. They get to know the original culture of the Grodno region and, of course, buy souvenirs. The holiday will be interesting not only for adults but also for children. Little participants of the festival will not be bored as they will be offered a wonderful game program.       

Galina ANTONOVA.