190 children went to Karaganda to attend the VI International Festival of the Jewish Children and Youth Creativity. The children were getting ready for this event for the whole year. The preparation for the Festival was at a high level: regular rehearsals, writing scripts, and making costumes. Everybody was involved including children, parents, and staff. Freilehe Kinder is a result of a team work. For many children this was the most memorable event of the year where they could show what they had learnt, find friends, and socialize with peers. This is an important community event.
The main topic of the sixth Freilehe Kinder was "Welcome to Israel!" The Promised Land, its culture, music, traditions were the main topics of all performances. There was a variety of songs sang in Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, and English. Many different dances performed in beautiful national costumes. Jews live all over the world but managed to preserve traditions and culture. Jews acquired culture of other peoples who they lived with but preserve their own rich and original culture. Modern Israel boasts a great variety of folk art imported by Jews from all over the world. All the richness of Jewish culture was conveyed in the Festival music and dances.
On June 4 in the Karaganda Theater named after Stanislavskiy a gala concert took place. It was going on for four hours but it seemed like a few minutes to the audience. The Chairwoman of the People Assembly of Kazakhstan Mariya Aliyeva read out welcoming message from the Regional Administration.
Then the floor was given to a member of the People Assembly of Kazakhstan, President of Mitsva Association Alexander Baron who was always the main inspirer of the Festival, "I am very excited because the Festival becomes dearer to me every year. Let me pass a message and welcoming remarks from the Joint management and President of the Jewish Congress of Kazakhstan Alexander Mashkevich. Our children learn the things that were prohibited for us when we were children. They do it openly and passionately. This is a great achievement! I congratulate everybody with the sixth Freilehe Kinder Festival!
The guests were also welcomed by the Head of the Jewish Agency for Israel Sohnut in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan Alexandra Briskin, "I am happy to address you on behalf of the Jewish Agency Sohnut. This Festival is an amazing event. Young people come to Karaganda from all over the country and create a fairy tale. Young people are beautiful dressed in amazing costumes. I am very glad that this Festival is called "Welcome to Israel!" You have prepared for a long time, studied the Jewish history, culture of Kazakhstan and Israel. Let me thank the organizers of the Festival and its participants!"
The Festival Presenter Irina Revenko, "We would like to name those people, who were indispensable for organization of this Festival: our sponsors - the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Congress of Kazakhstan, Association of the Jewish Organizations of Kazakhstan Mitsva and its President Alexander Baron, and the Sohnut Agency.
On behalf of the Youth Wing of the People Assembly of Kazakhstan, the audience was addressed by the leader of the Jewish Community of Kostanay Vladimir Alexanin. The German and Dagestan Cultural centers presented the audience with their folk dances.
This annual Festival never stops to amaze us with new ideas, findings, and skills improvement. The sixth Freilehe Kinder was a good demonstration of this principle. It opened new names and new horizons. We have seen here for the first time Anel Akbayeva (Shymkent), Bogdan Elkin (Nizhniy Tagil), Yana Kalyadina (Kostanai) and many others. The Festival goal was to exchange experience. Every year our children’s skills improve. Some children came here for the first time and fell in love with this Festival. There are also many children who grew up with the Festival. At the rehearsals before the gala concert the children not only perform their dances and songs but also learn from each other. The celebration of the Jewish culture is a school for self mastering.
The Festival made us proud for our people who carefully preserve its traditions and transfers the traditions to children. Children who came here for the first time were amazed at the Festival miracle and inspired. Everybody will bring his/her impressions to the family, community and the holiday will be multiplied.
It is great to see that the Festival continues the tradition of young people leadership. Active young people from Jewish communities of Kazakhstan came to Karaganda. The teambuilding events organized by the Festival management were very useful. They included a number of activities and games aimed at improving team cooperation. There were 12 captains of different ages and interests and each of them was a leader! It is interesting to note that the groups were formed not according to the guys’ age of interests but randomly. The guys were very enthusiastic to create a name and slogan and fulfill the team task. The common work unites. The results were presented at the closing event. I would tell you frankly, we have many young leaders to be proud of.
The sixth Karaganda Festival is over. It is a little sad but it is very rewarding that we have become participants of this memorable holiday. We are grateful to everybody who actively participated in Freilehe Kinder - the President of Mitsva Association Alexander Baron, Director of the Festival Irina Kozhanovskaya, Presenter Irina Revenko, Coordinator Elena Levina, Coordinator Larisa Brodskaya, volunteers of the Karaganda community, delegation leaders and all participants.