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The Jubilee Rally “The Sholokhov Sourse”

On July, 7-9, 2009, in Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya, the X rally of the children-youth ecological movement “The Sholokhov Source” was held. It was organized by the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve assisted by the Committee on the Natural Environment Protection and Natural Resources of the Rostov Region Administration and the Sholokhov District Administration. The subject of the rally participated by 100 schoolchildren of 10 teams from Russia, Ukraine and Kazahkstan, was the Sholokhov Geography: “From the Source to the Nobel Triumph”.

Ten years ago in the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve the idea of initiating the movement of  “The Sholokhov Source” was conceived as merely ecological. During the school year the children studied the creative work of Sholokhov, thoroughly gathered the information to reconstruct an integral picture of the Don nature and culture, on summer holidays they worked at the museum-reserve sites, acquiring skills of gardener, florist, verdurist.

Already the first rally had shown that the movement activity exceeded the bounds of an ecological education process. A living Sholokhov’s word in protection of the nature became an inexhaustible source for the research work of the young ecologists and united children and adults for cooperation in studying the Don land, the Cossack history and traditions, popularization of the literary heritage of M.A. Sholokhov.

The jubilee rally gathered the participants of “The Sholokhov Source” in the camping on the bank of the Don by the village of Lebyazhenskiy. They were greeted by the head of the Sholokhov District A.G. Kramskov, the chief of the department of the environment and ecological safety analysis, ecological education and information maintenance of the Committee on the Environment Protection and Natural Resources of the Rostov Region M.V. Parashchenko, the head of Dariyinskoye Village (Kazakhstan) N.A. Zheleznov.

A sapid diverse program was devised for the children. They visited the house-museum of M.A. Sholokhov and other museum structures, took part in the literary and ecological contests, sport competitions, showed the “visiting cards” of their teams and homework.

Each team brought to Vyoshenskaya souvenirs made of different materials by the young ecologists: pictures, collages and appliqués, articles made of papier-mache and blue clay and many other things. The presents were added to the museum of “The Sholokhov Source”.

A peculiar present was a concert devoted to the jubilee dates – the 10^th anniversary of “The Sholokhov Source” and the 25^th anniversary of the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve. The young performers delighted the viewers with their merry dances and circus items and stagings. Over the Don there was heard the violin and saxophone, folk songs and variety show music. The final chord of the concert were the ten lights flared up on the Don mirror-like water, symbolizing 10 years of “The Sholokhov Source”, and a firework.

At that night in the camping of the young ecologists, by the fire, there was heard for a long time a splendid music performed by the duet of a Kiev violinist Katya Novitskaya and a Vyoshenskaya saxophone-player Dima Shevtsov and the songs accompanied by the guitar performed by the “Planeta” group from Rostov-on-Don.

At the rally ten teams competed: “Epicentre” (Kiev Ukraine), “Atameken” (Dariyinskoye Village, Kazakhstan), “Rhythm” (Nikolayevsk, the Volgograd Region), “Khopyortsy” (Stanitsa Bukanovskaya, the Volgograd Region), “Bereghinya” (Boguchar, the Voronezh Region), “Planeta” (Rostov-on-Don), “NIM” (Kolundayevskiy Village, the Sholokhov District), “Vyoshentsy” (Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya) and two teams representing the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve – “Stanichniki” and “Luchiki”. All the participants tried their best and gained a success in this or that nomination. The greatest struggle was for the Big Cup of “The Sholokhov Source”.

Finally the prizes ranked as follows: the winner was the team “Vyoshentsy” of the Sholokhov School from Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya, the second prize was gained by the team “Stanichniki” of the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve, the third prize was taken by the team of the “Planeta” club from Rostov.

All the rally participants were rewarded with the thanksgiving letters of the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve and presents.

The rally ended with the action “The Tree of Friendship”. Each team brought from their home place some earth which would constitute a nutritious soil for a young chestnut tree. The chestnut would grow and so would strengthen the friendship of the young ecologists united by their love for Sholokhov and striving from different parts of the world under the flag of “The Sholokhov Source”.

E. Sofina