Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 20, 21, 22 March 2022, the capital’s park "Dustlik" will host a grand event - the I Festival of National Art and Traditions "MAKON FEST - 2022". 

The organizers of the project, which represents the whole variety of folk traditions and customs, applied arts, national cuisine, the unique oral and intangible heritage of Uzbekistan, are the Khokimiyat of the city of Tashkent, the Khokimiyat of Yakkasaray district, the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Heritage, Dustlik Park and Makon TV channel. The festival is held under the slogan "Biz bir Makon - biz O’zbekiston" (We are a single country - we are Uzbekistan).

Throughout all days from 9 am to 10 pm, the residents and guests of Tashkent are waiting for the show of musical and dance groups, folk festivals, games and fun, an oriental fair with thematic master classes, performances by Dorboz tightrope walkers, fashion shows, a gastronomic fair and a food show .

Over 3 days, it is expected that the Festival will be visited by about 15 thousand people, including guests and tourists from Italy, the USA, China, Russia, France, Switzerland, Japan, Great Britain, Israel, Spain, Greece, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, etc.

The festival will be attended by more than 100 international guests who have specially arrived from many countries of the world, including well-known figures of culture and art, scientists and researchers, representatives of authoritative international media.

On a sunny morning on 20 March, the Central Alley of Dustlik Park, with a festive procession to the sounds of karnays and surnays, will announce the start of the Festival of National Art and Traditions "MAKON FEST - 2022". More than 300 participants of folklore groups will march along the central alley of Dustlik Park in a bright and sonorous carnival, enticing hundreds of passers-by, tourists and guests of the Festival into the dance.

In Dustlik Park, where a moving picturesque chain of folklore groups began, a whole oriental city of games and entertainment will unfold. The youth, whose education in the ideas of respect for their roots and history is one of the main goals of the festival, will be able to take part in the national games, and adults will be able to watch the skill of tightrope walkers. All this together will create a unique flavor of the oriental holiday - with a wide scope and noisy festivities.

The arts and crafts fair will bring together about 100 potters, weavers, artists, chasers, jewelers, blacksmiths from all regions of Uzbekistan. In a bright sequence, they will be located in the picturesque locations of the park, presenting all the colors of traditional, since ancient times popular crafts. The malls will be full of wonderfully patterned chapans, dresses and carpets, jewelry-painted calligraphic utensils, caskets and toys, luxurious headdresses, dresses, jewelry, paintings and fabrics.

In addition, visitors will find a book fair with children’s literature, memoirs, books on psychology, philosophy, sociology and art, publications of modern and classical prose and poetry.

At the height of the program, competitions in the national wrestling kurash will be held, which will bring together 100 young and already prominent athletes from all over Uzbekistan. Competitions in this ancient sport will be one of the most spectacular events of the first day of the Festival. Competitions, like all international championships in kurash, will be held according to the Olympic system: fights last for four minutes, or until one of the athletes puts the other on the shoulder blades. By the end of the competition, the organizers prepared a surprise for the audience: kurash veterans, world and Asian champions, will also take to the mats and hold demonstration fights for the younger generation.

Also in the park, everyone can take part in chess and table tennis competitions. Yoga, zumba and mass flash mobs will become a memorable part of the festival’s sports block.

Young guests of the festival, especially during the spring break, will be interested in visiting the exhibition of vintage cars, getting to know the owners of rare models and learning stories about the restoration, preservation and maintenance of their modern form. In addition, several entertainment events are planned.

In addition, the puppet theater will prepare a premiere performance for the youngest spectators. Two screenings on the first and third days will take place in the amphitheater of the park. The uniqueness of the performances is their adaptation for children with special needs, during the performances sign language interpretation is planned on specially installed monitors.

The modern spirit of the festival will be brought by youth events: Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Dance and RAP battles. On the stage of the park on the third day there will be a dance battle from the dance house Zlotnikov Dance.

The Festival of National Cuisine will create a special atmosphere of a great open-air holiday, which will attract many gourmets, as well as experts in local and foreign cuisine, with its aromas.

During the three days of the festival, traditional spring dishes, such as Sumalak and Khalim, will boil in cauldrons, cook-somsa will be prepared in tandoors. Cooked meals will be distributed to both among visitors and in Murravat homes, homes for the elderly and the disabled.

In addition to the "live" cuisine, a fair of spices will unfold on the same square, without which it is impossible to imagine fragrant Uzbek dishes. Uzbekistan was one of the pulsating centers on the Silk Road, from where merchants brought a variety of spices and seasonings, which were considered a very valuable commodity. And here again, in the capital, numerous tourists and local residents will flock to the smell of the most fragrant fair of the Makon Fest Festival.

The evening program of the final day of "Makon Fest" will begin with a fashionable flavor Festival of national dress. The natural landscape of the park will become a living backdrop for the show of Uzbek designers, which will demonstrate both the robes worn by men and women who lived in Uzbekistan in ancient times, as well as costumes that are a modern interpretation of oriental themes in clothing details and accessories. 15 collections will be presented by 15 Uzbek designers. Spectators seem to be transported to an ancient oriental fairy tale, when models in wide fringed dresses, makhsi boots, light shirts made of pure cotton and thin robes, made exactly like many centuries ago, walked on the podium to the singing of bakhshi and the sounds of doira, will amaze the imagination both ordinary spectators and well-known masters and artists. But the most interesting part of the show will be a demonstration of modern business and evening suits made of khan-atlas and adras, which were another example of the fact that Uzbek traditional patterns do not remain only in historical outfits, but are perfectly combined with modern fashion trends in the fashion industry.

The festival of traditional culture "Makon Fest - 2022" will end with a grand extravaganza of national color, embodied in a gala concert. Folk groups and famous pop artists will meet on the same stage. With their solo and joint performances, they will demonstrate a wide range of traditional and modern musical culture of Uzbekistan.

General rejoicing and delight in the very heart of Tashkent will embody the very essence of the Festival, designed to unite the past, present and future around the spiritual wealth and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan.

At the end of the gala concert, the prizes will be awarded to the laureates of the Makon Fest - 2022 Festival.

Masters of arts and crafts, chefs, designers and folk groups will be awarded diplomas and valuable gifts.