By Yuliana Leonovich
Guests to Belarus will no longer need to look independently for the fern flower on Kupalle night, thanks to the village of Alexandriya in the Shklov District, which is to host Kupalle festivities on the night of 6th-7th July, on the bank of the River Dnieper. Local masters are making a limited run of fern flower souvenirs to help visitors long remember their unique night.
The flowers, made from clay, leather and birch bark, will cost upwards of Br10,000. Meanwhile, Mogilev’s Inna Savchuk has a souvenir priced at just over $100 (Br978,000), having won the Republican contest to design the best souvenir for the Kupalle festival: Alexandriya Gathers Friends. The contest organisers — the Culture Ministry and the Belarusian Chamber for Commerce and Industry — set the price, also awarding Inna a Grand Prix.
Anna Bryleva, who specialises in Chamber publications, is delighted by the results of the expert commission (headed by the First Deputy Culture Minister, Vladimir Karachevsky). She explains, “The flower is unique, having been made with love and care. We’re now debating how many to produce, as it’s hard to make a hundred flowers by hand. We’ll probably buy the rights from Ms. Savchuk, launching industrial production.”
Kupalle wreaths made by Tatiana Smolina, from Khoiniki, came second in the ‘Straw. Wood. Birch Bark’ nomination, while a ‘Kupalle-2013’ ceramic panel was acknowledged the best article made from clay, plaster and ceramics.
