Kupala in Vitebsk will be held with the participation of Latvian ensembles

July 7, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Kupala Night in Vitebsk will be held with the participation of Latvian ensembles, the Vitebsk Culture Center informed the correspondent. Kupala Night is one of the few holidays that have survived from pagan times. And although the holiday is quite old, and the original reasons for Kupala celebrations are no longer so relevant, every year on July 7, bonfires are lit in all corners of Belarus, wreaths are floated down the river, and, of course, people search for the magical "fern flower." The folk tradition has immense historical and cultural significance for the Slavic peoples, therefore, the celebration of Ivan Kupala at the Soviet Army Cultural and Recreational Complex became a new stage in the implementation of the project "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" of the cross-border cooperation program "Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus". The program was prepared by the Vitebsk Culture Center and the Daugavpils Latvian Culture Center, and is full of bright, memorable events. The Kupala Night celebration will open with a concert program by ensembles from the Daugavpils Latvian Culture Center: the folklore song and dance group "Svatra", the children's vocal studio "Perlites", and the professional brass band "Daugava", who will present the best numbers from their repertoire. Then, an entertainment program for children performed by the People's Theater of Games will begin, followed by a concert by Vitebsk ensembles: together with the park guests, the Kupala holiday will be celebrated by the "Lavonikha" dance ensemble, the "Zorka" choreographic ensemble, the "Egoza" dance ensemble, the "Forum" children's pop song studio, and the "Prostory" song and music theater. Fire, water, and herbs are the symbols of Kupala Night, and the Latvian organizers of the holiday will conduct a master class on weaving magical Kupala wreaths. And then the students will float their floral creations down the Western Dvina to find out if they will get married soon. The culmination of the Kupala holiday will be the lighting of a sacred bonfire and a Kupala flash mob. The project "Daugavpils and Vitebsk: Cultural Cooperation and Development" provides for joint cultural events: the celebration of traditional national holidays Ivan Kupala and Ligo with the participation of Belarusian and Latvian creative groups using historical and folklore themes aimed at preserving and popularizing folklore traditions and customs in the border regions; organizing concerts; implementing cultural exchange programs; providing the honored amateur ensemble of Belarus, the "Lavonikha" dance ensemble of the Vitebsk Culture Center, with Belarusian musical instruments, stage costumes and accessories, training the ensemble's participants in new dance productions by a choreographer from Latvia; reconstruction of the summer stage of the Soviet Army Cultural and Recreational Complex, a branch of the Vitebsk Culture Center. All this will contribute to the implementation of the main goal of the project: to provide the opportunity to hold various events, including international ones, aimed at popularizing national cultures, customs and traditions at a higher technical level. The project implementation is planned for 2012-2013. The total budget is 296.8 thousand euros. The budget of the Belarusian part of the project is 109.9 thousand euros, including 98.9 thousand euros from the European Commission. The overall strategic goal of the Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus cross-border cooperation program, implemented within the framework of the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument, is to improve the territorial cohesion of the Latvian, Lithuanian, and Belarusian border region, ensure a high level of environmental protection, promote economic and social well-being, and foster intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity. -0-