The Poetry Night in Velestovo this year will be held from 20 to 22 August in several locations in the village of Velestovo and in Ohrid, will be dedicated to the poetry of Risto Lazarov, and will be set the art exhibition "Father and son Upevce (mosaics and churches)" .

The event "Poetry Night in Velestovo" has created a beautiful tradition every summer for a large number of poetry lovers to climb the narrow and steep asphalt road from Ohrid to the village of Velestovo, from where the whole Lake Ohrid is seen as a palm. The fountain is over, and next to it is the church "Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God" and they are the main scenography for the poetry readings and sermons in which the most important Macedonian poets participated. For the past 32 years, the tradition has been created without pomp and red carpets, and with a lot of heart and soul.

The first years of the event were dedicated to Macedonian poets and poetry accompanied by one artist each. In the last ten years, the script has been internationalized with the participation of foreign poets. The coronavirus pandemic of these two years prevented the expansion of the program framework of the event, but did not trample on the poetic word.

This year, within the 33rd edition of the Poetry Night in Velestovo, on August 20, a dedication will be given to the poetic work of Risto Lazarov, a sermon will be given by prof. Dr. Dimitar Pandev, and the lyrics will be interpreted by the actor Jovan Cvetkoski. Previously, guitarist Martin Mileski from Ohrid will perform, and the program will be led by Marina Dimovska. In the porch of the church "Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God" in Velestovo, the same evening, the exhibition "Father and son Upevce (mosaics and churches)" by academic artists Slavko Upevce and Nikola Upevce from Ohrid will be opened. It will be an exhibition celebrating the 30th anniversary of the opening of their studio in Ohrid.

An international poetry reading is planned to take place on August 21 at the Sheila coffee bar in Ohrid, with a video projection featuring Kristin Omarsdottir and Sigurbjorg Trastardotir from Iceland, and depending on the coyote situation, Nadia Rebronja is scheduled to attend. from Serbia and the Macedonian poet Andrej Al-Assad.

The third poetry reading will be entitled "Poetry Sunset" and this year should be held on boats in Lake Ohrid, but if weather or other circumstances do not allow, the reading will be held at an alternative location in the village of Velestovo. The performance of Nadia Rebronja (Serbia) is planned for that event, as well as the domestic poets Dolores Atanasova-Lori, Saso Ognenovski, Ivana Jovanovska and Andrej Al-Asadi. The event is supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Municipality of Ohrid and Komercijalna Banka.

(The text was published in "Cultural Press" number 93, in the print edition of "Free Press" on August 14-15, 2021)