The lake in the Košice housing estate Nad jazerom was transformed into a promenade of original vessels on Saturday. Our partner forster homes which we support presented themselves at the Košice Venice event, which is part of the Days of the City of Košice.

The Uralská Košice Children and Family Center prepared a boat full of fantasy – Alice in Wonderland, which enchanted both young and old viewers. So much so that it was placed on the fantastic silver line in the ranking of the most beautiful vessels. Looking at the crew, we entered the world of a fairy tale. The elaborate costumes were sewn by the educator Blanka Kastellová with a colleague, her husband participated in the production of the vessel.

"The children are so excited to come here that they all want to go on a boat trip, but unfortunately that's not possible. They like to walk along the lake shore and look at what kind of vessels each person has made. It took us three weeks to make Wonderland, and we believe that the result will please the audience," said Blanka, whose hobby is fine arts and who played the Queen of Hearts in the boat. Little Amanda got into the role of Alice.

In terms of size, the dominant feature of the lake were the angels on the vessel of the St. Klement Hofbauer Children's Home from Podolínec. The theme, titled And so it all began (Christmas), carried a message that visitors could read on the board next to the vessel: "We offer you a scene from Bethlehem. We want you to return with us in your mind to the times of Christmas, the times of love, peace, the times when heaven touched the earth and the earth experienced great joy because the Son of God came into the world - that's how it all began."

The director of the children's home in Podolínec, Štefan Straka, admitted that after many participations in the Venice of Košice, he no longer counts the hours spent making all the elements of the vessel:

"Everyone who is here today from Podolínec worked hard on the production of the vessel. Every year I am amazed at the things they can do. Children always look forward to the Košice Venice, the younger ones ask who will go in the boat, and the older ones usually help with the production and construction of the vessel. Not all of them and not the same every year, but they take turns. This year there could be a maximum of two boys in the workshop because we were producing large pieces. We do it for the audience and it is always a challenge that we count on in our plan for the whole year, the Košice Venice has already become a part of our lives. Every year we look forward to being able to come here thanks to USSK and the city of Košice."

High school graduate Adrián spent quite a few hours in the workshop, helping with the construction and dismantling of the vessel: "On Friday, we did a "general inspection", we built it completely as if it were an event, so that everything would be perfect on Saturday." And it really was perfect - Podolínec placed in a beautiful third place.

The children also joined the accompanying events prepared for the little ones by the Jazero district of the city. They cheered on “their” friends and each other as they launched their boats.

Passionate football player Kiko said goodbye: “Thank you for the opportunity to be here. We had a fantastic time.”

We also thank you for a wonderful show on the lake and great atmosphere that you brought to the Venice of Košice.

Photo gallery: Ján Kisucký