PETROZAVODSK, February 27, 2004 (RIA Novosti northwest correspondent Alexei Ukkone) - An international festival devoted to the world famous Karelian-Finnish epic, "Kalevala," opens today in the Republic of Karelia on the border of Finland.
"The Kalevala Mosaic" festival will take place in Kostomus, the town where the ancient legends that form the basis of "Kalevala" were written.
The festival includes performances of folklore companies from Karelia and Finland, Finnish poetry parties, meetings with the writers and the poets of Karelia and several art and book exhibitions. One of the exhibitions will display publications of the famous epic in different languages. ("Kalevala" was translated into more than a hundred languages.)
A seminar, "Young People and Folklore Traditions," will take place in the context of the festival. Its aim is to familiarize young people with the traditional national culture of Karelia.
