Vytoki festival: great fun, cool gifts and summer showers

The first day of the Vytoki sports and cultural festival has come to an end in Postavy.

The first day of the festival featured the stART art interactive event, an extensive cultural program, and focused on issues of regional development.

The day kicked off with an excursion for bloggers and the media and a seminar, Belarus – a Brand for Young People.

During the seminar, held at one of the city's leading enterprises - a dairy factory whose products are well known both across the country and beyond its borders, experts and young people discussed opportunities for self-realization in social studies, economics, and culture.

Yana Kumishcha, a young general practitioner and a roundtable participant, shared her impressions of the event.

“I joined the district youth council not long ago, but I can already see that thanks to such meetings, we learn what sectors young people of our region can be involved in and what opportunities are available. I feel involved and understand that I can contribute to the development of my city.”

The festival continued with the interactive art event stART.

One of the most colorful projects of the festival took place near the renovated stadium.

A team of professional artists, together with enthusiasts, decorated areas for rollerblading, skateboarding, and other sports.

This year, in order to closely connect cultural heritage with the spirit of sport, words associated with successes and victories were added to the ornamental elements inspired by bedcovers which used to be woven in Belarusian villages in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Even a summer shower did not spoil the impressions. Everyone enjoyed their work greatly.

Vytoki is a family festival. Children came to the interactive art event stART in Postavy together with their parents.

“We once took part in a drawing competition in Glubokoye. We couldn't miss such an event in our city. Children love to draw. It is really great fun for them! The weather did not spoil anything. Postavy was looking forward to the festival. We have never had anything this big in our city before. We will definitely attend other similar events,” said the mother of the young participants in the art interactive event.

“The bad weather made some adjustments to our interactive event. Nevertheless, our workshop was a success. The children learned to work with paints and brushes. The children helped us decorate a new sports ground in the city,” said Liliya Lukashenko, Director of the ArtHaos Gallery.

The project Yezha z Sensam (Meaningful Food), which has attracted the attention of many participants, focuses on everyday food and recipes from our great-grandmothers, grandfathers, and parents. “Many people ask: Why do we do it this way, while other regions do it differently? For example, dumplings are made differently within Vitebsk Oblast. We want to show that this is deeply rooted in our culture and explain why different areas use different products and have certain preferences. Today, local historians and representatives from Postavy will be talking about this,” said Valentina Dynich.

Visitors to Postavy tried local cuisine, praised its originality and unique presentation: potato pancakes with cottage cheese, sour cabbage, local meat rolls.

The festival on Thursday wrapped up with an evening open-air screening of the World Champion film. Friday will feature clinics for young athletes from prominent athletes, a sports and history quest, the opening ceremony of the festival, and the musical production Modny Vadevil (Stylish Vaudeville).

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus