The first cherry festival in Belarus was held from July 21 to 27. An investment forum was timed to coincide with the event, which was attended by several hundred guests from foreign countries.
During the festival, cherries managed to become a brand of the city: a monument "Cherry" was opened here, a large cherry orchard of 1414 seedlings was laid, and Cherry Street will soon appear. The festival will become traditional. Next year, it will be combined with the celebration of the 600th anniversary of Glubokoye.
In Belarus, rich in cherry trees, a festival in honor of this berry has not yet been held. However, we are not the first in the world. Cherry festivals have been held for many years in neighboring Lithuania, in the town of Zagare. The local cherry market attracts visitors from all over the Baltics: the event is included in the list of recommended for tourists and is actively advertised. Similar festivals are held in Vladimir, Russia, Lovran, Croatia, and Washington and Traverse City, USA.
The independent newspaper "Volnoye Glubokoye" noted on its pages that "the idea is the best that could have been chosen." "We must thank God that in some Dokshitsy, Sharkovshchina or Verkhnedvinsk they did not come up with this," the correspondent of the publication wrote.
"The festival project was presented in December last year at the international forum 'Image Belarus', held in Minsk," says Galina Unukovich, deputy chairman of the organizational штаб for the preparation and holding of the cherry festival. – The idea of holding the festival fell on fertile ground, as our city has been famous for its abundant cherry orchards since ancient times. Cherry trees grow in almost every yard."
"We also proceeded from the fact that we have a powerful production sector and can process cherries at the cannery, bakery, winery, and dairy canning plant," Galina Unukovich continued. "The most innovative product we have created is cherry wine, which is intended to be a healthier alternative to fruit and berry wines. Our new product has already received medals at competitions in Minsk and Moscow."
The festival week passed quickly – the program was too eventful. In addition to the traditional concert and fair, a beauty contest was held as part of the festival. Tatiana Stakhovskaya, an employee of RPU "GlubokoeRayGaz," was elected "Cherry Queen."
It was hard not to notice the large number of cars and buses with Lithuanian and Latvian license plates. Not only businessmen for the investment forum and tourists came to the cherry festival, but also schoolchildren – several Latvian school buses were spotted. The lack of foreign guests at our festivals is the main problem of the entire domestic event tourism.
