Festival "Century of the connecting thread" - a recipe for eternal youth

On October 1, on the International Day of Older Persons, the Festival of Musical Groups of the Older Generation "Century of a Link" was held at the Moscow Provincial Theater.

More than 250 older participants from different parts of Russia, the CIS countries and Eastern Europe gathered on the site of the Provincial Theater. More than a thousand representatives of public organizations of pensioners, veterans and disabled people of Moscow and the Moscow Region came to support them. The theater that day turned into the heart of the folklore of the Moscow region.

The main goal of the festival, the organizers consider receiving a prescription against despondency and sadness, apathy and indifference, which are unfairly considered habitual attributes of old age.

The event is organized by the International Public Fund for the Protection of Human Dignity and Security. Its Chairman - pilot-cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Viktor Gorbatko inaugurated the festival and congratulated the participants and spectators on the International Day of Older Persons.

“When in 1960 I joined the first cosmonaut corps, I was young, and now I am already among the elderly. Today’s festival once again shows that we care not only about youth, but also about those who worked for a bright future, ”said Victor Gorbatko.

The festival was supported by: Moscow Regional Public Organization “Union of Pensioners of the Moscow Region”, Association for the Support of Pensioners, Veterans and the Disabled, All-Russian Public Organization “Union of Pensioners of Russia”.

Valery Rodionov, President of the Association of Supporting Organizations for Pensioners, Veterans and the Disabled, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow Regional Public Organization “Union of Pensioners of the Moscow Region”, emphasized: “Our festival, in just four years, has expanded its borders and turned from regional to international. During this time, representatives of the older generation from nine foreign countries took part in it. This is the best evidence of the demand for such events not only in our country, but also abroad. I am very pleased to see these wonderful, active people who support and preserve their cultural, national, ethnic traditions and, of course, creative longevity. Their motto is a line from the well-known song - “Old age will not find us.” This, of course, is the leitmotif of our festival. By conducting our event, we want to not only provide these original, creative groups with the best venues in the country, but also support these people, in their desire to be active, to please peers and pass on their traditions to young people. ”

The artists showed that they can not only fervently sing, dance, play folk instruments, but also create unique costumes embroidered with traditional patterns with their own hands.

Creativity prolongs life - this message was repeatedly sounded from the stage in welcoming words, and the participants proved that they know dozens of lullabies and love them to their grandchildren, they can conduct wedding ceremonies in the traditions of their land and embroider the daughter’s bride’s dress with beads, cover the hospitable table.

The “Visiting Cards” of the festival include the compositions “I didn’t think to get burned today” and “Siberian Matyana” - they were performed in a circular dance, which is a prototype of the modern “battle”. From the stage sounded not only folk, but also the author’s songs of the Moscow, Tver and Kursk regions. The audience recognized the Tatar, Mordovian and Udmurt tunes, while foreign guests introduced Serbian and Bulgarian songs. Siberian chatterboxes, ritual and temple songs, and various potpourri did not leave indifferent.

Many participants of the festival have already managed to show themselves on the Moscow stage, in particular, as part of a unique competition-festival of collectives of older people “Battle of the choirs”.

Natalia Ivanova, a participant in the Russian Song Choir of the Yauza Palace of Culture from Mytishchi, Moscow Region, sings not only on stage. She teaches at school and in the classroom encourages students with songs.

“Our team is over 35 years old. Thanks to such festivals, young people join the culture of our people. We make sure that they love a folk song in our country. When we perform at street festivals, everyone dances, including youth. All members of our retirement age team, but many continue to work. For example, I teach art at school. I heard some ditties on topical topics that were included in our repertoire from my students. It’s hard for young students to remember long poems, and it’s interesting and very fun to talk about what worries about the ditties in a biting format, ”shared Natalya Ivanova.

Within the framework of the festival “Century of the Binding Thread”, an exhibition of works by craftsmen was held. Basically, samples of embroidery and decoration from different regions and countries of the participants in the gala concert were presented

Among the guests of honor were Senator Elena Bibikova, member of the Federation Council Committee on Social Policy, Svetlana Smirnova, Permanent Representative of the Head of the Udmurt Republic to the President of the Russian Federation, Slavish Bozhinovich, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of the Maydanpek Region.