Two village museums in the afternoon

In the afternoon we drove to two small villages, Motol and Bezdezh, to visit their museums.  At Motol we were entertained by two groups - the first were 7-8 young boys with their leader who played traditional Belarussian folk music on accordions, and the second a group of 8 men and women who sang and played.  Their village sponsors a cultural centre where young people can learn the traditional culture of art and music, and the groups are products of this centre.  Their museum was very well done.

The second village, Bezdezh, has a similar museum, but it is more of a "living museum", with animals, food, and even a modern rental suite in an old farmhouse to help earn more money to improve their facility.  Again we were entertained by a local adult group (I tried to upload a video but couldn't seem to make it work.) of singers and instrumentalists who had assembled just for our visit.  We were apparently the first visitors from Canada they'd ever had.  The museum houses a mammoth collection of cross-stitched linen aprons which is the specialty of that village, and which have won international competitions.  Although the Belarus Culture Ministry supports these museums financially, we found that the hosts were enthusiastic and very motivated to improve their facilities, and anxious to please visitors.

Part of the apron collection at Bezdezh

Horse cart and museum grounds

Bryant models wool coat with our hostess, Maria

This woven grain basket is treated to repel rodents

Typical cross-stitch bedding

Musicians at Bezdezh

We had a small lunch in their farmhouse, with sampling of homebrewed vodka

Martha modeling a wedding headdress, Bezdezh