Autumn marks the culmination of diligent work throughout the year. To subtly and appropriately remind lovers of the printed word and its avid readers of all this, a festive autumn fair was organised at the Matyrinskaya rural library-club.
Autumn marks the culmination of diligent work throughout the year. To subtly and appropriately remind lovers of the printed word and its avid readers of all this, a festive autumn fair was organised at the Matyrinskaya rural library-club. Apples, onions, courgettes, potatoes, and other fruits and vegetables caught the eye. Some of them had grown unusually large, such as certain onions. This generated particular interest among visitors – local residents and their children. Not far away, stands with magazines and books were decorated in a Belarusian national style, offering advice from renowned gardeners and horticulturists. Moreover, the library in Matyrino had recently become integrated, receiving a large book collection from the local secondary school for use.
Villagers gathered in the reading room of the library-club. A true theatrical performance unfolded here, involving adults and children.
Larisa Mikhnevich, the head of the Matyrinskaya rural library-club, engaged the audience in an entertaining dialogue about the bountiful fruits of autumn presented at the fair. Special attention was given to potatoes. The event participants shared their knowledge about the history of potatoes in Belarus, their long journey to being established in our region, how Belarusian peasants learned to cultivate and properly prepare and consume them. As a result, it is now impossible to imagine a dinner table without potato dishes.
Even a "guest" from America, from the state of Colorado, visited the harvest festival, appearing in the form of a Colorado beetle. This role was successfully played by a local schoolboy, Alexander Pototsky. In the end, the boy was gifted a sack of potatoes, so that the Colorado beetle would be well-fed and would not harm the cultivation of this crop in the local fields next year.
Our people love potatoes, and therefore compose wonderful songs about them and dedicate poems to them. Thus, the autumn fair could not do without a creative competition. A melodious song "Bulba" was sung by Karina Yurchanka, a senior student at the local school, and a touching poem "About Love for Potatoes" was read by Galina Pukh, a student at the same educational institution.
Throughout this engaging cultural event, the library-club accompanist Mikhail Shalakh played the accordion and sang songs, providing the sound of cheerful, lively music. And when, at the very end of this harvest festival, the poignant song "My Little Village," which is part of the repertoire of the well-known ensemble "Besiada," was performed by him, the audience greeted the artists with an ovation. This was a clear and undeniable endorsement of everything that had taken place over the course of about an hour, an expression of sincere gratitude to the organizers and participants of the autumn fair.
Nikolai GORBACHEV.