Balkhash residents participated in setting a world record

In Almaty, over the holidays, the Medeu skating rink was covered with patchwork blankets. A new world record was set – 660 patchwork quilts were combined into a single canvas. The action was attended by craftsmen from all over Kazakhstan – from six-year-old children to 90-year-old grandmothers. The residents of Balkhash did not stay away.

"Seven Balkhash residents contributed to the record. They are all representatives of different professions. But everyone was united by a common cause – the revival and popularization of native Kazakh needlework. Special attention was drawn to the youngest participant of the record, our compatriot 6–year-old Ayesha Samenbet. She's a student at the Y School. Altynsarina. The girl, along with her mother, specially prepared the kurak and contributed to the overall canvas," the Northern Baltic newspaper reported in a public post.

The initiator of the action is the Alaman Kurak community. The large-scale work was officially registered in the Global World Book of Records. According to the organizers, the special feature is that the quilts are made in the same color, from the same material, of the same size and weight.

– This is the first time such an event has been held in Almaty. GBR received an application for registration of an ethnorecord from Kazakhstan. There has never been such a massive project on a global scale or in the history of Kazakhstan, so it was decided to support the initiative. 660 craftsmen from 20 regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 17 regions and three cities of national importance – Almaty, Astana, Shymkent participated. The craftsmen arrived with ready-made products, sewn according to the established requirements (size, weight, cut, pattern, etc.). Since the record is more dedicated to the city of Almaty, then, accordingly, the coloring of the blankets was bright, like our city. Pillows in the form of apples did not participate in the competition, but they decorated the event. Eight registration officers monitored the record setting. In addition, the process was monitored online by a judge from the Czech Republic and the secretary of the registration department in India. Today, the world record in Almaty has been set, registered and will be entered into the register of international records within ten days," said Kuandyk Kudaibergenov, General Representative of the Global World Book of Records (GBR).

Photo by the press service of the Akimat of Almaty