“Ilyinsky Festival” in Tsypino was held on grand scale!

The “Ilyinsky Festival” took place near the Church of St. Prophet Elijah on August 2. In spite of the fact that the event fell on the midweek, a lot of people participated in it: there were residents of Moscow, Belozersk, St. Petersburg, Cherepovets, Kirillov. Most of them came together with their families!

Everybody found here what he or she looked for. Many people took part in the religious procession and could visit the church. The women who had come from Vyborg shared their impressions, “The trip to Tsypino is like music to our ears. We didn’t even know that there was such a complex here!”

Lyubov Yershova announced the opening of the “Ilyinsky Festival” with her wonderful voice. Her soprano could be heard in all of Tsypino. This light and sweet voice could leave nobody cold. “Ave Maria” performed by the local singer of metropolitan scale was so sincere that the face of everybody wreathed in smiles. Lyubov who was inspired and elegant could wake every cell of the soul faltered in expectation of a miracle, purity and revelation with her strong voice.

Everything in Tsypino was in the Russian style. People danced on a green field to the accompaniment of the button accordion, walked on stitches and joined in the tug-of-war contest. The smell of freshly baked pies and cloudberries was in the air!

Both local people and guests tasted jam and pies presented for the contests and gave their marks. According to their voting, the jam of Svetlana Chekushina (Kirillov) and the berry-pie baked by Zinaida Appolonova (Leushkino village of the Ferapontovo rural settlement) were named the most delicious.

People could taste not only the sweets; they could also showcase their skills in crafts! There were lace-makers, potters and smiths!

Guests of the “Ilyinsky Festival” were especially happy when boatman Sergey Tokarev launched his new boat on Ilyinsky Lake. By tradition, they poured champagne on the scarlet sails and the stern, gained the Water Spirit’s favour with copper coins and set sail!

Ivan from Moscow admired everything he had seen, “A real meeting is in tune with the customs of the Russian soul. Every visitor got a breath of space with a vast and deep peculiarity! I express my deep gratitude to the organizers on behalf of my large family– everybody has fun here! Our special thanks to the enterprising performers doing their best to create the mood of the society”.

In the opinion of the resident of Moscow, the enterprising performers were the Ensemble “Golden Age” that sang the merriest songs and the Family Ensemble of Andrey Mishanov (from Lipin Bor) that could inflame spectators’ hearts and give them the best emotions with their fervour.

The prizes-for-all lottery in which over a hundred tickets participated added intrigue to the event. Children were also happy taking part in the contests, getting tickets and exchanging them for sweets!

The festive atmosphere during the “Ilyinsky Festival” reigned not only on the specially arranged ground. A thin thread was stretched between small stacks on the neighbouring field and “a hare” was to run along it in a moment. Some elements of ancient hunting with hounds delighted people of all ages.  

Now everybody will have a chance to get to the atmosphere of the 19th-20th centuries and to see how creative youth of the Ferapontovo area had a rest at that time only at the next “Ilyinsky Festival” in 2018!

The Elijah’s Day was celebrated in Tsypino with songs, Russian amusements, launching of Sergey Tokarev’s new boat on Ilyinsky Lake, hunting with hounds and contests for the most delicious jam and the tastiest berry-pie.