The Vitebsk Listapad - 2018 festival will offer an open mic, an avant-garde exhibition, and a youth performance
This is the 32nd festival. It began as a celebration of bard song, but in recent years has changed its format: it has become more democratic, expanded, and poetry, visual, and other arts have become a full-fledged part of it.
Moreover, the masters of the pen decided to take center stage this year. This applies to the number of applications submitted for the competition, the geography (seven countries), and the number of partners, including the Parisian literary almanac "Glagol," Russian and Ukrainian publications, and the competitive internet portal Stihi.lv (Riga). By the way, the World Cup in Russian Poetry is held on the platform of the latter.
As explained by one of the competition coordinators, Oleg Seshko, the selection for the "Poetry" nomination was rigorous, and the competition level promises to be high. However, entry to "Vitebsk Listapad" is open to all authors with a poetic soul. They can read their poems in the outdoor cafe, which will be located in the box of the Vitebsk Concert Hall.
A free microphone will be available here. Those who wish will compete in a poetry tournament in the tower of the ancient castle – Dukhovskoy Kruglyk. The winners of the competition, along with the jury members and festival guests, will take part in the poetry concert "Dialect of Rivers," which will be held on October 21 in the round hall of the Concert Hall. Later, Vitebsk poet and musician Mikhail Rubin will present his collection "To Each" here.
The first event of "Vitebsk Listapad" will be the opening of a large-scale exhibition by artist Alexander Malei, a follower of the avant-garde traditions of the Vitebsk Art School, and a performance by the youth theater "Koleso." Perhaps, as the project manager Vladislava Tsivki said, this art form will also occupy a worthy place at the festival in the future, and this year it is planned to open a performance studio.
In addition to the competition participants, the author's song will be presented by famous Belarusian and Russian bards: Alexander Bal from Mogilev (with a solo program), Alexey Bardin and Andrey Kuchumov from Moscow, Vyacheslav Kovalyov from St. Petersburg, and others. During the gala concert, the winner of the main award of "Vitebsky Listopad" – the special prize "Recognition" – will be announced.