OREANDA-NEWS. June 28, 2010. Over 700 partakers have gathered for the 7th national folk art festival Beraginya in the town of Oktyabrsky, the Gomel Oblast.

Partaking in the forum are children’s and youth folk groups, folk music ensembles and dancers, performers from Belarus, Russia, Poland, Moldova. There have also been invited folk art amateurs from Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, scientists from different countries, representatives of the Culture Ministry of Belarus, the National Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO, the oblast and region authorities.

The folk art festival will start in the urban public garden with a concert of the state choreographic ensemble Khoroshki.

The programme of the festival includes a dance couple show, folk groups competition, Lyavonikha and Polka best performance contest. The best folk art experts will give master classes.

The festival will end up on 27 June with a concert of authentic groups, the Palesski Kirmash folk festive, arts and crafts trading show.

The national folk art festival Beraginya unites creative people interested in preserving their culture. According to the organizers of the festival, its major mission is to preserve folk traditions and show their uniqueness both for Belarus and the world culture.

The festival is a visiting card of the Gomel Oblast. It was first held in the region in 1998-1999. The second festival in 2001 covered the whole Gomel Oblast. In 2004 the forum became nationwide.

Beraginya has been steadily developing under the auspices of the Culture Ministry of Belarus, the Gomel oblast and Oktyabrsky regional executive committees, the UNESCO bureau in Moscow, the National Commission of the Republic of Belarus for UNESCO, the Belarusian Foundation of Culture.