VITEBSK, 23 June (BelTA) – The sports and cultural festival “Vytoki. A Step Towards the Olympus” kicked off in the town of Glubokoye in Vitebsk Oblast, BelTA has learned.
The start of the festival on 23 June is symbolic as this day marks the International Olympic Day. Vytoki will begin with a press tour to the Glubokoye District Youth Sports School, where, together with the participants of the festival, journalists will open the holiday “Olympic Day: Sport is for Everyone!”
Guests of Glubokoye, dubbed as the cherry capital of Belarus, will visit the Square of Famous Countrymen and learn more about the patron of arts who financed the construction of the Carmelite Church; writer, folklorist, archaeologist Yazep Drozdovich, the founder of the national theater Ignatius Buinitsky and the birthplace of the great Soviet aircraft designer Pavel Sukhoi.
Guests of Glubokoye will be given an opportunity to explore the majestic Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is impossible not to notice from afar and whose white and blue façade makes an indelible impression on anyone who sees the temple for the first time. The church, the site of the historical and cultural heritage, is a striking example of the Vilna Baroque. In the past it housed a Carmelite monastery.
On the first day Vytoki will hold a seminar to discuss the topical issues of training athletes and ways to solve them with the participation of specialists from Belarusian State University of Physical Education and the Higher School of Coaches, specialists from sports organizations of Gomel Oblast. The event will be hosted by Glubokoye District Gymnasium. The Belarusian Olympic Academy will organize a workshop for school and preschool teachers.
The artistic interactive event “Let’s play and draw together” will be themed around ‘The Flower Walker’. It will be drawn by a team of professional Belarusian artists, and children will color the surrounding area.
The evening program of the festival will open with The Very Same Munchausen performance by the Belarusian Film Actor’s Studio Theater in the town community center.
The first day will end with the screening of the famous sports film in an open-air cinema.
On the second day the leadership of the NOC of Belarus, the Sport and Tourism Ministry and the Vitebsk regional administration will tour the sports facilities of the district, get familiar with the sports infrastructure in Glubokoye. The Olympic race will bring together about 500 children under 9. The Olympic Quest will be held right after the opening ceremony. Everyone under the age of 14 will have an opportunity to take part in sports competitions, and receive valuable prizes.
Sports sites will be set up in more than 30 sports: boxing, biathlon, tennis, basketball, karate, mini golf and many more. Emergency workers plan to exhibit their stand, too.
The festival will present its new location “Games of our Yard”. The event includes a number of yard games which were once very much popular. The organizers have prepared keepsake gifts for winners.
The final of the regional leg of the new intellectual and educational project “Vytoki. Quiz” will feature teams from each district of Vitebsk Oblast. The project will continue in each of the cities hosting Vytoki 2023.
The entertainment program on 24 June will open with a show of apparel collections by Belarusian manufacturers, designers and entrepreneurs Rodnaye-Modnaye.
A new song lyrics contest “Poems about life important things” is this year’s novelty of the festival. The highlight of the festival will be a concert featuring Belarusian artists. Spectacular fireworks and a disco will wrap up the event in Glubokoye.
In Vitebsk Oblast, Orsha and Polotsk hosted the festival in the previous years. The organizers of the festival are the NOC and the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.
