More than 15 families will compete for the title of "Master of the Village" and the right to represent the northern region in the national final of the project in the Vitebsk region, reported Vladimir Babichev, First Secretary of the Vitebsk Regional Committee of the BRYU.
The regional stage of the national family agricultural project "Master of the Village" will be held on June 24 in Verkhnedvinsk. The main venue for the celebration will be the District Centre of Culture and Folk Art, where the regional stage will kick off at 11:00 AM. Simultaneously, a forum for rural youth and a meeting of the Regional Youth Chamber will be held here. Contest participants will engage in an open dialogue "Family is the Foundation of the State," during which they will be able to ask all pressing questions. A special guest at the opening will be the Sytkovsky family from the village of Prudinki, Verkhnedvinsk district – the winners of the regional stage in 2021 and the second-place winners at the national level.

After the official opening of the project, a centralised procession will head to the Verkhnedvinsk city square. At 12:20 PM, a rally "We Remember. Belarus Remembers" will take place at the memorial. As the organisers emphasise, in the Year of Historical Memory, it is crucial for young families to actively participate in the patriotic education of their children.

Twenty minutes later, the participants of the agricultural project will return to the main venue and begin completing tasks. They will face competitions involving lawn mowing, wood chopping, and an agricultural relay race. Additionally, young families will bake draniki (potato pancakes) on a log, and during the introductory competition, they will invite spectators to their homestead. Friendly and hardworking couples will present a karavai (traditional bread) on a rushnyk (embroidered towel), and introduce their family rituals and traditions. Who exactly will represent the Vitebsk region at the national stage will be announced after 6:00 PM.

"This year, the emphasis is on modernity. For example, when talking about their families, participants will discuss their own traditions rather than Belarusian folk traditions. In the lawn mowing competition, families will use trimmers instead of manual scythes to cut grass at speed. There is progressive youth living in the villages, and almost every family owns a lawnmower or a trimmer. 'Vlastelin Sela' is one of the unique events organised by the Youth Union because the project is specifically aimed at working with young rural families. And today, through this project, we are demonstrating that families living in rural areas are confident citizens, modern, with interesting approaches to life, who are truly ready to strengthen our state's position in villages and district centres. After all, the way of life of a rural family today is not only about managing a household plot but also about the process of transforming their home into a real agro-estate, where everyone, young and old, can comfortably gather. And most importantly, through the project, we are indeed providing state-level support, thereby improving the material and technical base of young rural families," noted Vladimir Babichev.

Source: vitebsk-region.gov.by