The Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic organized the “Khnotsi” (Churner) Festival for the first time in the Hin Shen village of Shushi region. The festival was held as part of the plan for preservation of intangible cultural heritage.

According to “Artsakhpress”, during the festival, skillful professionals showed how to churn the churner and served the dairy products according to tradition.

The festival included a traditional reception, as well as games and performances of songs and music of Artsakh and other cultural events.

During a briefing at the event, NKR Minister of Culture and Youth Affairs Narine Aghabalyan mentioned that the goal of the festival was to preserve and popularize the values of intangible cultural heritage of Artsakh, as well as make people respect and care about national customs, traditions and ethnography.

“We select the venue for every festival by taking into consideration the peculiarities of the given venue. Cattle-raising is highly developed in Hin Shen village, and people preserve traditions better here,” Aghabalyan said, adding that the ministry was also going to hold the “Tut” (Mulberry) Festival soon.

According to the minister, these festivals will be annual and traditional and will be organized in different communities.

These events already form an inseparable part of the cultural policy that is also aimed at making Artsakh more attractive in terms of culture and tourism.

Among the participants of the festival were NKR President Bako Sahakyan, Speaker of the National Assembly Ashot Ghulyan, Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, other officials, as well as guests from Armenia and other countries.