This year, the Belarusian diaspora of Latvia took part in the annual Riga's Day for the first time, placing its stand on the Town Hall Square during the celebration.
Participation in the event was organized by the Association of Belarusians of Latvia "Supolka" together with the Latvian Society of Belarusian Culture "Svitanak" with the support of the Danish Cultural Institute in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
To introduce and popularize traditional Belarusian folk art, master classes were held on making "Vycinanki" - decorative papercut art, and charm dolls "Zhadannica". The acrylic painting workshop on shopping bags was in great demand among visitors. It was offered by modern Belarusian artist and illustrator Olga Yakubovskaya, known for her series "Freedom's Cats".
The interest of the guests was aroused by the board game on the similarity of Belarusian and Latvian words developed by the members of the "Supolka", and an aqua makeup with samples of the Belarusian national ornament.
Belarusian rock musician Lyavon Volski and the Latvian choir "Frachori" congratulated the city on behalf of the Belarusian diaspora from the stage on the Town Hall Square. A pleasant surprise was the joint performance of the unofficial anthem of Belarus "Three Turtles" and the version of the "choral anthem" of Latvia "Saule, Pērkons, Daugava" in the Belarusian language as a symbol of Latvia's support for Free Belarus.
During the celebration of Riga's birthday, the stand was visited by the ambassador of Latvia to Belarus Einars Semanis, Vice Mayor of Riga Linda Ozola, the head of International cooporation division of Riga City Council Galina Bukovska, the head of the Association of National Cultural Societies of Latvia Raffi Kharajanyan, the head of the organization of Belarusian artists in Latvia "Mayu gonor" Viachka Tselesh, the member of the Belarusian House in Estonia and the representative of the Office of Sviatlana Tikhanovskaya in Estonia and Latvia Vitaliy Molchanov, and the member of the Presidium of the BNR Rada Aleś Čajčyc.
