This year, the festival marks its 30th anniversary. With each passing year, it grows larger adding new and vibrant events. At the same time, its hallmarks, known and loved throughout Belarus, remain timeless: the traditional Friendship Procession on the opening day and the national pavilions on the second day of the festival.
Festival events will be held throughout the historic downtown of Grodno, from Kolozha Park and the ancient castles to Ozheshko Street.
One of the first locations is the Alley of Friendship in Kolozha Park that will host the campaign titled New Friends Are Always Welcome: representatives of the ethnicities taking part in the festival for the first time will plant trees.
At 11.30 an official flower ceremony will take place at the mass grave of Soviet soldiers and partisans who perished during the Great Patriotic War in Gilibert Park. At noon sharp, prayer services For Peace, Harmony, and Tolerance will be held in the churches of Grodno Oblast.
The exhibition-fair celebrating Grodno Oblast as a comfortable tourism destination will open at 12.00 in the courtyard of the New Castle and will be running for two days.
The Festivalmy cultural center will be abuzz with activities too. At noon the festival participants will send a message to new generations as they place a time capsule directly in the building of the center. Nearby, on Telman Street, a monumental decorative sculpture of a deer, a festival symbol of Grodno, will be officially unveiled.
The program also includes two important meetings. Members of the Belarus-Russia Union State PA Commission on Culture will take stock of the work on restoration, reconstruction, and museumification projects of Brest Fortress and the creation of the museum exhibition at the Buinichi Field memorial. Representatives of the national associations will gather at the Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno for a roundtable discussion The Festival of National Cultures — 30 Years. The Yanka Kupala Grodno Regional Scientific Library will host a presentation of the book Yanka Kupala, Yakub Kolas, Maksim Bogdanovich in the Languages of the Peoples of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Belarusian Pavilion spanning Sovetskaya Square and Mostovaya Street will showcase the multifaceted culture of Belarusians, represented by all regions of the country.
The main event of the first day will be a theatrical procession of national-cultural public associations titled The Holiday Uniting Nationalities for 30 Years that will take place from Sovetskaya Square to Lenin Square, accompanied by music, songs, and dances. A grand opening of the final events, titled The Festival of National Cultures, A Festival of Festivals! will open at 19.00 in Lenin Square and will be followed by a large-scale gala concert featuring artists from Belarus and the national-cultural public associations.
The evening program will culminate with a youth disco featuring the Dushevnoye Radio station and the Russian band Fabrika, a laser-light show and fireworks.
The second festival day will see the national pavilions where participants from 42 nationalities, alongside Belarusians, will showcase their songs, dances, rituals, and treat visitors to their national cuisine. The third day will traditionally take place at the Augustow Canal: one of its central events will be the regional festival Treasures of Grodno Oblast featuring historical reenactments of Belarusian weddings by participants from all districts of the region. Children’s and sports activity areas will be set up, along with steamboat rides and fairs.
