Yukigassen games in Arkhangelsk
In the very beginning of 2015 a Yukigassen team from Vardø led by their trainer and a referee came to Arkhangelsk to teach local citizens to play snowball. However, the locals won the matches.
When the New Year is coming and celebrations in Norway are over, long holidays starts in Russia: it lasts until January 12 and that is ideal time to realize joint projects as people do not work and seek for possibilities to try something new.
January holidays due to their duration and continuity give all the room to organize both mass and informal events. We must admit that Arkhangelsk city hall year by year exercises ingenuity and openness for new ideas , closely cooperating with Representative office of Barents Secretariat. For the third time organizers of “Christmas Bell-Chaim” festival invite participants from Northern Norway using opportunities and instruments of Barents cooperation financing.
So it is not surprising that in the very beginning of 2015 two delegations from Norway visited to Arkhangelsk: Yukigassen team from Vardø led by their trainer and a referee came to teach Arkhangelsk citizens to play snowballs. Local youth organizations prepared for competition thoroughly – they built fortifications on the field, discussed rules and strategies what turned out to be fruitful: Norwegian team became only second. Moreover, Christmas competition proved to be not a one-time event – on January 24 new Yukigassen tournament is going to be held in Arkhangelsk, while youth mixed team is invited for Yukigassen festival in Vardø in March 2015.
All in all January holidays this year were marked by two sport novelties: Pomor games were held on Kego-island next day after Yukigassen and Norwegians also took part in it. Their tour to island was headed (road there goes across the river on ice) by representative of Pomor brotherhood , friend of Barents Secretariat, Remi Strand.
As well as innovations we appreciate traditional events which are awaited by locals: for the third time producer Rune Paulsen gladdened the guests of Tim Dorofeev’s jazz studio with Russian-Norwegian band. It is a simple receipt: take fabulous voice of Therese Ulvan, add mastery of musicians Andrey Shabashev, Christo Stangness, Dima Lobov, and sound from Frode Eide, and in the result we get total sold out.
But even long New Year holidays come to the end, while ties and plans for future remain.
Text: Anna Petrova
Photo: Julia Iordanova, Andrey Shalyov, Egor Tarasov