The traditional annual children’s festival “Salom, Tobiston!” (Aloha Summer) took place in Boghi Iram (Botanical Garden) in Dushanbe on May 29. The Asia-Plus Media Group and Obi Zulol Company, which one of the largest bottled water and soft drinks producers in Tajikistan, organized games, music, dances, delicious treats, and much more for children and their parents before the start of summer.
The celebration took place under the shade of numerous trees and shrubs in the Botanical Garden, allowing festival guests to enjoy themselves comfortably without paying attention to the May sun.
By the start of the festival (14:00), a large number of guests had gathered, all ready to bid farewell to spring and welcome summer. The event area was quite spacious, and music could be heard not only from the stage, where the hosts energized everyone, but also from various other locations.
The official part began with welcoming words from Asia-Plus Executive Director Manizha Anvari and the general partner of the celebration – a representative from Obi Zulol Company. Then it was time for real fun and an adrenaline rush.
Magic on stage
The first performance on stage was by the Children’s Dance Group “Jasmin.” Both boys and girls, along with their parents, danced to the sounds of their favorite national melodies. Throughout the celebration, both Tajik songs and contemporary foreign hits echoed, with the children singing along: songs from children’s cartoons and popular hits among kids and teenagers.
During breaks between dances, hosts Andrei Sokolov and Lola Abdunazarova conducted fun contests with prizes. Children, along with their moms and dads, were tested on their resourcefulness, vocal abilities, and other skills. There were so many eager participants wanting to win prizes from our partners that it was impossible to get through to the stage at those moments.
Another form of art enjoyed by festival guests was the performance by puppet theater artists.
Everyone familiar with summer camps and fun, Siva Jalilov and his team presented their program. This time, the boys had to compete against the girls in resourcefulness. The kids sang along to familiar tracks, guessed melodies, and competed in their knowledge of the school curriculum. The bravest parents also tried their luck, as there were tasty gifts from the partners of our celebration.
Tasty and active
Meanwhile, other interesting events were happening at different festival locations. Boys and girls of all ages competed in chess games, played checkers, soccer, bounced on trampolines, and even played badminton.
After dancing and releasing energy, guests could relax with drawing, assembling robots or construction sets, sculpting figurines, and more. They could not only decorate paper but also themselves, thanks to face painting.
To help festival guests restore their energy without leaving the celebration, our loyal partners provided a wide range of products for sale – snacks, pizza, hot dogs, sambusa, soft drinks, ice cream, sweets, and much more. Even healthy vitamins were available for purchase.
At the same time, volunteers from the youth network NGO “Equal to Equal” monitored the cleanliness of the Botanical Garden throughout the celebration.
Asia-Plus expresses its immense gratitude for the support of the festival “Salom, Tobiston!” to the general partner Obi Zulol, the official partner – the company Lindavit, and partners: the company Krember, Mava Tea, the supermarket chain Yovar, Dodo Pizza Tajikistan, the company Pokiza, Café Chef Doner, as well as Siva Jalilov’s team.
We were also helped to organize the celebration by: the company Sardor, the IT school for children Kiberone, the store Kid’s Craft, the robotics and programming school RobX, the company Megachips, the international school of sports and educational robotics Robot League, Art Hona, DRC Cosmo Land, the “Juventus” academy, Fresh Mix, the company Rohat, and the café Foram.
