For many, the "Vytoki" festival has become a symbol of the start of summer.
This traditional sports and cultural event brings together young people and families, offering a variety of activities for all ages: from a sports and historical quest and the musical performance "Modny Vadevіl" to the popular children's Olympic quest. This year, Postavy is hosting the festival, and BELTA correspondents joined the events of the first day to capture the cheerful, sporty, and friendly atmosphere of the celebration.
The first day of the festival began with a visit to the Postavy Dairy Plant by the youth of Postavy region and journalists. As Valentina Dynich, co-organizer of the festival and director of "BelBrendAudit" LLC, noted, such a project is necessary for "Vytoki" as a career guidance initiative.
The plant director, Georgy Kosten, showed the guests all stages of cheese production, spoke about the history of the plant, and shared his plans. "Currently, as part of the state program 'One Region - One Project,' equipment for cottage cheese production is being installed. A milk bottling line has already been installed, which is planned to be assembled during the IV quarter and put into operation. In addition, we have not been idle in previous years: to expand production, we modernized the boiler house, increasing its capacity by one and a half times. The reconstruction of the first stage of the treatment facilities has now been completed. We have increased the capacity of the treatment facilities by more than two and a half times and continue to modernize. We also plan to purchase a line for slicing and packaging cheese. In the future, we intend to expand cheese production, increasing both the range and production capacities," he said.
A significant portion of the Postavy Dairy Plant's products are exported. "Last year, exports amounted to over $40 million. Also, yesterday, within the framework of the 'Belagro' exhibition, an agreement was reached on the supply of a batch of cheeses to Uzbekistan. We worked with these partners before, but unfortunately, this work subsided for two years. Yesterday, within the framework of the exhibition, a new agreement was reached," the director added.
Over its 85-year history, the plant has experienced much: it operated during the war years, was temporarily transferred to another enterprise, and was devastated. But today, its products are familiar to many – under the "Postavy Gorodok" brand, butter, sour cream with various fat content, milk, kefir, ryazhenka, baked milk, and cheeses are produced. The dairy plant offers decent working conditions and wages, with various support measures provided for housing issues and numerous other initiatives.
The Postavy Dairy Plant became a venue for the seminar-round table "Belarus - A Brand for the Young". Here, young people discussed the importance of staying in their home regions, shared ideas for improving existing conditions, and learned about the opportunities already created for them. Additionally, the young participants took part in a creative master class where they learned to express emotions through text, inspired by what they saw.
The day continued with an artistic interactive session from the "ArtChaos" gallery. Together with artists, the young guests of the festival decorated the new skate-roller park. As in the previous year, "postilki" (woven blankets from Belarusian villages of the late 19th - 20th centuries) were used to decorate the park. However, this year, Belarusian words associated with success and victories were woven into the ornaments. "We organically integrated them into the ornament to unite art and sport," said the concept author, Belarusian artist Sergey Ashukha.
Unfortunately, the rain prevented the paint from drying completely, but the gallery representatives found a solution. "Of course, it's a pity about the effort, as we tried hard to apply the pattern, wanting it to be interesting for the kids. But we are not discouraged. This stage turned out to be more like a master class for us. The kids understood how to work with a brush, how the paint applies. And we will leave the materials for them, as we want the kids to finish this project themselves," noted the gallery director, Lilia Lukashenko.
Alisa Yurkova, a young resident of Postavy, said she came to the master class with friends. They eagerly awaited the festival's arrival in their town, and even the warning about the rain couldn't stop them. "It's cool that you can contribute to something that will decorate the town. I have a scooter and roller skates, so I'll come here to ride and happily remember how I decorated the area myself," shared the girl.
Angelina Portunova, a student at the art school, saw the master class as an opportunity to try something new. "It was a lot of fun, and I was left with only positive emotions," Angelina noted.
The day continued with a presentation of the "Yozh z sensam" (Hedgehog with Meaning) project. Guests of the "Vytoki" (Origins) sports and cultural festival were presented with dishes of local cuisine, highlighting their originality and presentation features. The presentation was conducted by the folk club of national cuisine, games, and rituals "Traditsiya" (Tradition) of the Centre of Culture and Folk Art of Postavy District.
Ksenia Gresko, Director of the Centre, explained that the focus was on potato dishes, as it is not for nothing that potatoes are called the "second bread" in our country. All the presented dishes are included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of Belarus.
For example, in Postavy District, even ordinary draniki (potato pancakes) are prepared in a special way – with cottage cheese. The Director explained that it has not been officially established why ancestors prepared draniki in this particular way, but there are assumptions: "Every Belarusian had their own household. And, of course, a milk-giving cow was always in the house. There were plenty of dairy products, and that's how cottage cheese started to be added.
In Postavy, they also prepare unusual kletski (dumplings) – with "souls". "Initially, the kletski were different; they were made from flour. Then, when potatoes began to play a significant role among Belarusians, they started making kletski from potatoes. At first, they were made without filling – just balls of grated potatoes. Over time, they began to add a "soul". Initially, it was a memorial dish, prepared for the "mourning table". But over time, it became less festive, although still not simple to prepare. Therefore, perhaps, when family or friends gather on a Sunday, they adorn our table," said Ksenia Gresko. The filling in the kletski can be completely different, but in Postavy, minced meat and lard with dill are traditionally used.
Among the dishes are many other treats: khvorost (fried dough), birch kvass, bread kissel, and many others. "Such dishes are still prepared in our families today," emphasised the Centre's Director.
"Vytoki" in Postavy is just getting started. The first day of the festival concluded with an open-air screening of the film "The Champion of the World". And tomorrow, new events await guests: a sports and historical quest will be held, a modern skate-roller park with a workout area will open, the festival opening and the musical performance "Modny Vadevil" will take place. And on Saturday, the long-loved Olympic quest for all young participants will be held, where they will have a chance to win smartwatches, a musical Bluetooth speaker, or a power bank.