August Fest

The "Harvest" festival once again did not bypass the farmstead of Vasil Shkindzer in Vyaliki Polsvizh. And we cannot bypass it either. To dance, to chat with good people.

It is impossible not to note the traditional, as it is fashionable to say now, "life hack" at Vasil's farmstead. I'll explain. A "life hack" is a small trick or valuable tip that helps solve everyday problems. The problem of washing dishes is extremely relevant for any man. I'll give you a hint. Barley porridge with chicken on cabbage leaves is the solution. Instead of metal spoons, wooden ones. Vladimir Krytski made them with a few precise movements of scissors. The Japanese have chopsticks, we have our own Belarusian exoticism and our own "sticks" for eating.

Vladimir was also responsible for the "field kitchen." By the way, about barley groats. I happened to overhear a conversation of one of the guests on the phone. A respectable man admitted to his interlocutor that his son eagerly ate several bowls of porridge, which he wouldn't even look at at home. Well, that's at home, but porridge cooked over a fire in the fresh air is incomparable to home-cooked food on a gas stove.

Leonid Savchenko and Ivan Budich carved Yarilo from a log. For those who do not remember or do not know, I will remind you. Although I hope there are not many of the latter. Yarilo is the god of fertility, spring, and sensual love in Slavic mythology. After the advent of Christianity, many of his features were acquired by Saint George.

Leonid Savchenko also ended up in a photograph by Lepel master Sergey Atroshchenko. And it was made not with a modern "Nikon" or "Canon," but using an ancient technique called "ambrotype." In general, the word "ambrotype" itself comes from the Greek "ambrotos" - immortal. It is quite difficult to describe the entire process of creating a photograph in a few sentences. "Ambrotype" is the application of a potassium iodide solution to a glass plate and treatment with a silver nitrate solution. Photographs on glass must be taken quickly, as they dry out in about fifteen minutes.

We cannot fail to mention other masters who presented their works for the audience's judgment.

Let's start with the woodcarver Igor Budrevich. These are still lifes carved by the skilled hand of the labour training teacher from Secondary School No. 1, as well as Orthodox icons. Decorative ornaments made of natural leather are the fruits of the creativity of Galia Leyko from Poussvizh. Dzmitry Budich cast not only turtle-shaped candle holders from gypsum but also the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's coat of arms, "Pahonia". Alexander Kazhan is on "first-name terms" with wood. Alexander exhibited potato mashers, meat cutting boards, and other items.

Twenty minutes – and Vitebsk artist Valery Bely will create a portrait. Unfortunately, large raindrops drove not only the artist but also numerous guests from the "en plein air" under a canopy.

From "spiritual food," let's return to the daily bread. More precisely, to the "second" bread of Belarusians. Ilya Shkindzer, Nastya Shor, and Andrey Zharnasek baked potato pancakes and poured delicious tea. I have only drunk such a herbal infusion a few times in my life. You probably understand where. I hope the owners of the agro-estate will not be offended if I write down the recipe for the "alchemical" brew. Melissa, mint, cudweed, thyme, motherwort (oregano), St. John's wort. Try it, you'll like it. I'm not even mentioning the draniki.

The guests ate, drank tea, and looked at the improvised "village of masters." It's time to sing folk songs and perform national dances.

The Vitebsk folklore group "Pavnіchnaya Sukhadroŭka" (sukhadroŭka is a tributary of the Luchosa River) and Polotsk's "Vargan" are traditional guests at the festival.

Poussvizh is rich in talent! Nastya Zharnasek, a local girl, is a young but talented singer whose soulful voice left no one indifferent. And where would we be without dances! There are plenty of fashionable styles now. However, pay attention. The ancient "shy" and "modest" dances stand out as a stark dissonance against the backdrop of modern, unadorned eroticism, which often borders on shamelessness.

It got dark... The rain subsided, the Lithuanians and Latvians performed, and they made Yarila. Until late at night, songs were heard, music flowed, and the dances of the three brotherly nations continued.

Yauhen MUDRI