A museum of gardener-breeder Ivan Sikora is planned to be opened in the Sharkovshchyna district

Preparations for the Apple Spas festival have begun in Sharkovshchina. This year, a real surprise awaits festival guests: everyone will be able to visit the house of Ivan Sikora and see how the famous Belarusian amateur breeder lived and worked, reports "Narodnaya Gazeta".

Marketers are confident that Belarus is a country of apples, and this fruit, loved by many, is as much a brand as, for example, plums and cherries.

Sharkovshchina is ideally suited for the implementation of this interesting idea. It is here, in the village of Alashki, that a large-scale festival dedicated to the birthday of Ivan Pavlovich Sikora is held annually. The district commemorates and honors the work of the gardener, who devoted much of his life to creating apple varieties with increased frost resistance. By the way, it appeared only after the breeder's death and was named in his honor – "Pamyat Sikory" (Memory of Sikora). The festival is gaining popularity, and now the district executive committee faces the task of raising the celebration to a new level.

- The brand of our district is the green apple, a variety developed by Ivan Pavlovich Sikora, - notes Lyudmila Stoma, Head of the Department of Ideological Work, Culture and Youth Affairs of the Sharkovshchina District Executive Committee. - Currently, Apple Spas is a local holiday, although last year guests from neighboring districts visited us. In order to reach the regional level, we submitted an application in the spring to raise its status. We hope that in the future it will also acquire republican significance.

It is noteworthy that a few months ago, the house where Ivan Pavlovich lived, which houses about three thousand exhibits, became the property of the museum in the village of Alashki. It is planned that it will open its doors to visitors by Apple Spas.

- The house was sold after the scientist's death, and only now has it become our property. We are gradually starting to restore it, - said Lyudmila Stoma. - We know people who were personally acquainted with Ivan Pavlovich, visited him, and remember some details of his daily life. Now our main goal is to restore the house as much as possible and show it to visitors during Apple Spas in the state it was in during the life of the gardener-breeder.

The territory around the Sikora house has already been landscaped. Paths have been cleared in the old garden, gazebos have been installed, and even a well from Ivan Pavlovich's time has been set up. "This is precisely the place where he spent most of his life, where everything breathes his atmosphere. There are cellars, utility rooms, and good quality utensils have been preserved," says the head of the department of ideological work, culture, and youth affairs.

In addition, at the museum in Alashki, guests can purchase a collectible exhibit if they wish, thus starting their own collection. The Sikora museum grounds feature a three-hectare fruit orchard, and three nurseries operate there, growing seedlings of varietal apple trees, pear trees, and berry bushes.

The Sharkovshchina District Executive Committee has already developed a program for the apple festival. In particular, it includes the blessing of the new harvest, a visit to the museum of gardener Sikora, an apple feast, a competition for the largest apple, the sale of seedlings, sports competitions "Sporting Apple," a charity auction of apple pies, literary "apple readings," a competition for the best "apple" photo essay, and a scientific conference for gardeners.

Irina Sudas, "Narodnaya Gazeta"