On May 26, the first season of the «Tom Sawyer Fest» starts in Kurgan. This is a charity event: volunteers restore old buildings on their own. On May 20, the beginning of the season was announced on VK.

Citizens of Kurgan are going to restore the two-story semi-stone building on Kirov street, 32. This is the Zaitsevs’ house, a cultural heritage site of regional importance. The exact date of its construction is unknown (approximately the beginning of the XX century).  The house has unique plat bands and carved wooden decor.

According to the organizers, the plan for the summer is to fix the appearance of the building, repair the fence and gate, try to restore the wooden decor and paint the facades.

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"Tom Sawyer Fest" appeared in Samara in 2015. The idea belongs to a local journalist and activist Andrei Kochetkov, and the name — to mathematician Andrei Chernov (after the famous Mark Twain’s character). In 2016, UNESCO mentioned the festival as an example of effective "soft renewal" of the urban realm.

In 2019, historical buildings of Yelets, Kirov, and Arkhangelsk will also be restored by local activists.

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