Route created

Bright Belarusian summer: the National Tourism Agency talks about the most interesting festivals and events of the warm season

The event calendar offers almost 250 reasons to travel around Belarus in the summer. The developer is the National Tourism Agency, which collects information from the regions and posts it a month before the start of the new season on its website, as well as on the belarus.travel resource. The lists include a brief programme, dates and organiser contact details. Even the most discerning tourists will find something riveting: it turns out that almost every weekend, and even on weekdays, a lot of captivating things happen in the country! For get-up-and-go types of travellers, the calendar is a hint on how to spend the summer in a fulfilling way.

During the grand opening of the Call of Polesie festival of ethnocultural traditions in Gomel Region, Petrikov District,
agrotown of Lyaskovichi        Ivan Yarivanovich 

Directing attention to the ­r­egions

Belarus’ Ministry of Sports and Tourism has devoted considerable attention to populating the tourism calendar for the second year running. However, this year it was decided to make the calendar seasonal, rather than for the whole year as in the past. Thanks to this approach, organisers on the ground have more time to work out the details. They have also taken a different look at how they can attract tourists at different times of the year: positive examples of festivals held locally and by neighbouring countries encourage creative thinking.
“As a result, 98 events were planned for the summer of 2024, and in 2025 there are two and a half times more. These include festivals, city days, concert programmes, mass sporting events and other themed celebrations,” explained Yekaterina Alekseyeva, Head of Information Support Department at the National Tourism Agency. “This growth in the number of events indicates the regions’ desire to more actively attract tourists and residents to participate in city celebrations. Local authorities understand that promoting events is a good way to develop the region, attract attention to it and increase tourist flow. In addition, we see that tourist information centres are initiating unique activities — excursions, quests, cycle rides, intellectual quizzes — thereby promoting their districts.”

The most active regions traditionally remain Vitebsk, Grodno and Minsk regions, where the largest festivals are held. It is noteworthy that in the summer season of 2025, historical, cultural and mass events dominate in Belarus.  

The most popular are open-air festivals, especially music festivals, city festivals and city days, as well as thematic cultural events related to the history and traditions of the region. Moreover, the calendar devotes a lot of space to sport — marathons, sports festivals and competitions, exhibitions and fairs, creating a pleasant atmosphere of active recreation for residents and visitors to the country.

   

Cherry Festival in Vitebsk Region, town of Glubokoye                                             Batskava Bulka [a bread loaf festival] in Grodno Region  
Anton Stepanishchev                                                                                        Daria Titova

Festival time

Summer is flying by! Half of June and many vibrant events are already behind us. Yet, in the first month of summer, you can still see the ancient Procession of Bush rite, which will take place on June 19th in Chechersk District. This event has the status of the element of the intangible cultural heritage of Belarus. And you should definitely make it to the tasty festival Strawberries of Luninets in the agro-town of Dvorets on June 28th.
“The main event of July is Independence Day. Tourist sites are preparing thematic programmes for this significant date. The Stankovo ecological tourism centre and the Stalin Line historical and cultural complex will host military historical reconstructions, and Rogachev will host the Belarusian Embroidery festival,” the representative of the National Tourism Agency recounted the fascinating upcoming events. “The rafting trip In the Footsteps of Count Konstantin Tyszkiewicz in Vileika District is scheduled for July 3rd–10th. Also in early July, there will be Kupala Fest folk festivals, musical evenings on the Oginsky Canal in Slonim, and the art picnic On the Waves of Neman in Mosty.
The holiday in honour of the icon of the Mother of God of Budslav is scheduled for July 5th, the republican holiday festival Alexandria Gathers Friends — for July 5th–6th, the International Chagall Days in Vitebsk forum to mark the 138th anniversary of the birth of Marc Chagall will take place on July 6th–7th. The Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk International Festival of Arts invites guests for the 34th time on July 8th–14th. At the same time, July 18th–19th sees the Cherry Festival international celebration in Glubokoye, and July 19th marks the Avtyuki republican festival of folk humour.    
The Viva Braslav international sports and music festival will be held on July 25th–27th in Braslav. In Postavy, guests will gather on July 25th–27th for the Dulcimer and Accordion are Playing international festival of folk music. Also, tourists are expected on July 26th at the Voronovsky Dranik gastrofest.” 

Enjoy a tasty August

The National Hunting and Fishing Festival is planned for early August in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha, and the Bulbyany [Potato] Fest will take place in Sharkovshchina District on August 2nd. “On the same day, the Linen Carousel festival is scheduled in the urban settlement of Korma, the Golshany Castle festival, the medieval culture festival Knights Fest in Mstislavl, and the Ilyinski Kirmash trade fair in Kostyukovichi District. The next day, you can go to the Loach of Polesye gastro festival in the village of Gorodishche, Pinsk District. A little later, on August 9th–10th, the Motol Delicacies international folklore festival extends an invitation. Also on the 9th is the Ivye Tomato festival, the Novogrudok Castle medieval culture festival, Sea Festival on the Avgustovsky Canal, and the Tsmok’s [Dragon’s] Way international festival of Slavic mythology in Lepel District,” Yekaterina Alekseyeva suggested. 
Later in Dribin, the 14th Dribin Trade regional festival of folk art and handicrafts will be held (August 15th–16th). On August 16th, the Batskava Bulka bread loaf fest is planned in Svisloch, and Honey Festival in Volozhin District. Also, in the calendar for the penultimate weekend of summer are the Hannenski Kirmash fair in Zelva, Wostrau Nesvizh Fest, the Bread, Cheese, Kvass and Good Mood festival in Novogrudok, and the Dazhynki-2025 festival in the Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Lifestyle. There are also several options for ending the summer season. Thus, the organ music festival will be held in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Lyakhovichi District, and the celebration of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Synkovichi, Zelva District.

Activities adjusted for the calendar

It is noteworthy that in Belarus, each month is dedicated to a specific type of tourism. This means that there may be more events of a particular focus than at other times. For example, June is declared the month of historical and cultural tourism. July will be the month of active tourism. From July 7th to 13th, 2025, there will be a week of cycle tourism, followed by a week each of water and hiking tourism. August will be the month of event tourism — there will be plenty of holiday options at the end of summer.

   

Larisa and Aleksandr Bytsko reviving national                         City holiday dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Belarus' 
cultural traditions, Kamenets District                                              liberation from Nazi invaders 
Aleksei Stolyarov                                                                  Yelizaveta Kobetskaya   

Win-win outcome

The format of events is diverse and allows for attracting a wide audience, making summer in Belarus rich and vibrant.
The event calendar fuels interest in holidays in Belarus, contributes to the formation of an attractive image of the country for travellers, and makes tourism development more manageable and predictable. “The regular holding of significant events creates unique brands for the region or country and stimulates domestic tourism,” said Yekaterina Alekseyeva. “Referring to the calendar, tourists can plan their holidays. This approach increases the number of experiences, makes trips more fulfilling and memorable, and encourages visits to new regions and familiarisation with the national traditions that Belarus is rich in.” 

By Maria Druk