Bread of friendship, plein air for young artists, beauty contest. Dokshytsy celebrated the "Festival of Two Rivers"

The Berezina and Viliya rivers, originating in the district, connect 14 regions of five provinces of the country. The festival is designed to strengthen creative ties between them, to unite talented, initiative people living along the banks of the Berezina and Viliya on one stage. The Minister of Culture of Belarus, Boris Svetlov, called it a vivid testament to how much the district administration and the residents of the region are doing for the development of art, tourism, and recreation.

The beauty and grace contest "Lady Festival" opened the series of festive celebrations. The contestants represented the work collectives of enterprises, organizations, and institutions of the city and district, and there were also many mothers among them. They easily paraded in elegant outfits and answered tricky questions from the jury members. Each beauty was awarded her own title, and the main prize went to young Anastasia Stefanyan.

The exhibition-presentation of the region's achievements showcased popular products of local enterprises.

The hosts of numerous farmsteads invited guests to taste dishes prepared according to ancient recipes and to get acquainted with the works of local craftsmen. As part of the "Gift to the City" campaign, villagers baked a large loaf of friendship. Its peculiarity is its unique filling from each village council: apples, blueberries, cheese.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Andreichenko, invited the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Belarus, Cui Qiming, to taste national dishes prepared by the craftswomen of the folk club of national cuisine and games "Shchedrovka".

As part of the festival, the townspeople celebrated the 609th anniversary of Dokshitsy. Congratulations and warm wishes were extended to the long-time residents, the youngest inhabitants, labor dynasties, jubilarians, and newlyweds.

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Year after year, the townspeople and villagers are writing the chronicle of their native region, each one, — **emphasized the Chairman of the District Executive Committee Oleg Pinchuk**. — Invaluable help and support in solving important issues are provided by the regional leadership and personally by the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Nikolai Sherstnev, as well as our deputy in the Parliament of the Republic Vladimir Pavlovich Andrichenko. I wish the "Festival of Two Rivers" prosperity and a long life.

Cui Qiming did not hide his admiration and tried to capture everything interesting on his mobile phone.

— I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend the festival in Dokshitsy, — he thanked. — A beautiful city, surprisingly sociable, hospitable people. I liked everything very much. In my opinion, creativity is an important link that strengthens the friendship of peoples, interregional ties, and business cooperation of citizens of different countries.

And Vladimir Andrichenko wished from the stage that the forum would become international as soon as possible.

Also, the contests "Fair of Family Talents" and "Berezina Melodies", the plein air of young artists "I Draw the Festival", a DJ competition, the photo exhibition "Swan Land", and many other interesting events were held. The concluding chord was an open-air disco on the river bank.

Opinion:

"The family theme is an important distinguishing feature of the 'Festival of Two Rivers'. Among the forums held in the Vitebsk region, it will confidently take a honorable place. This is an inexhaustible stream, into which new streams of folk art of Belarus and foreign countries will flow each year," — noted **Minister of Culture Boris Svetlov**.

Diana Bernikovich, photos by the author. "Vitebskiye Vesti".