More than 50,000 residents of the Vitebsk region are engaged in amateur creative activities

September 2, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. More than 50,000 residents of the Vitebsk region are involved in amateur arts, the head of the culture department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Pashinsky, told a BELTA correspondent. 4% of the region's population is involved in amateur creativity. As Nikolai Pashinsky noted, the fact that five collectives bear the title "Honored Collective of the Republic of Belarus", and 482 are "People's" or "Exemplary" testifies to the professionalism of amateur artists. In the last three years alone, four collectives have become "Honored", and 89 have become "People's". Special attention is paid to rural cultural institutions in the region. 30 new integrated types of cultural institutions operate in agro-towns and large villages. As a result, 80 rural collectives have been awarded the title of "People's" or "Exemplary". According to the interlocutor, numerous festivals and competitions contribute to active creative initiative. Almost every district of the region has its own festivals. About 100,000 mass events are held annually for the residents of Vitebsk region - from international festivals to village and professional holidays. Among them, 20 cultural events are international or republican. Along with the famous "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", the festival of modern choreography, the I. Sollertinsky music festival, and the Postavy "Zvinyats' tsymbaly i harmoni" have gained wide popularity. One of the oldest festivals, which has passed its 40th anniversary, is "Braslavski zarnitsy". Such a multitude of cultural events has made it possible to establish constant cultural cooperation with Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Slovakia, and Moldova, Nikolai Pashinsky said. -0-