Sponsored in part by Yummy Market, the Star School’s “I Read A. Pushkin” contest saw ten young finalists in the final round of a literary face-off for the $500 Grand Prize and a chance to read a
poem or a fairytale by A. Pushkin on stage at the 5th annual Winter Holiday Gala, one of the biggest community events of the year. The contest finals took place at the Shalom-Aleihem Lodge B”NAI BRITH CANADA community centre on December 16th. The Grand Prize winner, Rovshin Iliya Joseph, will be reading his poem at the Winter Holiday Gala in front of more than 200 people on December 25th.
Children ages five to 18 had an equal chance of entering the contest. The panel of judges – consisted of seven prominent community leaders, publishers, TV personalities and educators – evaluated the contestants’ emotional connection to the chosen excerpt and their ability to articulate.
“I Read A. Pushkin” contest finalists, joined by siblings and fellow contestants, celebrating their victory on stage. “It is inspiring to hear young Russian-Canadians recite Pushkin’s poems by heart especially since for many, Russian is a second language after English. Yummy Market is thrilled to support an event that celebrates our cultural heritage and cultivates love for classic literature in our kids. We certainly hope that this tradition continues.” – said Alexei Tvsetkov, Yummy Market’s CEO. Each finalist received a sweet chocolate prize from Yummy Market along with many other prizes including tickets to holiday shows, complimentary dance and theatre lessons from Star School and other prizes.