Tomorrow, for the first time in the history of the republic, the Felt Festival will open in Tuva. The first international festival “Patterns of Life on Felt” is dedicated to the Year of Tourism. Master-craftsmen of felt products - yurts, souvenirs, etc. - from Altai, Khakassia, Bashkortostan, Krasnoyarsk Krai, four aimaks of Mongolia, and five districts of Tuva, came to Kyzyl. On Lenin Street and next to the 5-years of Soviet Tuva Stadium, on the shore where the Big and Small Yenisei join to make a great river, is the location of the yurt town.
This is where the presentations of the festival participants will take place, and where the exposition and sale of yurts will be organized,, as well as a market-fair of felt products. All those who wish to do so will have an opportunity to learn the basics of the crafts from A to Z, from pressing of felt, making patterns, and creating products made from this ecological material. Workshops will be held by national artisans who preserved the traditions of felt-making.
Mai-ool Khomushku from Mongun-Taiga, who is the inventor of his own new technique of creating hangings from felt by combination of patterns and pressing of many-colored strips of wool into the material, prepared an entire collection of felt creations. There are children’s toys, souvenirs, house slippers, and even an artistic tapestry for the discerning customer.
The sarlyk-breeding kolkhoz “Mogen- Buren” supports the local artist, procuring special dyes and pigments for him, but as to procuring the raw material for the artifacts - that is no problem.
The results of the first international Felt Festival will be presented on the Day of the Republic.
The idea of holding a Felt Festival originated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. “We talk a lot about the necessity of developing original forms of tourism, says the Minister Vyacheslav Dongak. - This is the first serious step in that direction. The approach to the Naadym celebrations can be just like this. For significant events, like Shagaa and Naadym, which traditionally attract a lot of interest, we will prepare the infrastructure ahead of time and will organize tours fro tourists.”