Ratiboř

The Village of the Year competition is organised by the Ministry of Regional Development and other organisations that seek to promote rural development and village life. The competition evaluates the overall functioning of the village, i.e.: construction and its development, social life, cooperation with agricultural entities, renewal of traditions and folklore, planting and greenery, work with children, activities of associations.

The evaluation is carried out by a 10-member committee consisting of representatives of the county, the Ministry of Regional Development, the Ministry of Agriculture, architects and landscapers, representatives of the county library and the winners of previous rounds. The committee awards seven prestigious prizes:

Golden Ribbon - winner of the competition, Blue Ribbon - for social life, Orange Ribbon - cooperation with an agricultural entity, White Ribbon - for work with children, Green Ribbon - ecology, Hope for a Living Countryside Award - restoration of traditions and folklore in the village, Fulín Award - for flower planting.

We decided to participate in this year's event. After submitting our application, we received a date for a visit by the committee. We called a meeting of all the associations with the mayor to prepare a program to try to impress the commission.

I was very surprised at the enthusiasm of all the representatives of the associations and organizations. Despite the fact that we had attended the Goulash King the previous weekend, the preparations for welcoming the commission and the whole programme had been going on with great commitment since Monday. During Wednesday and Thursday morning, the garden of the rectory was transformed into a small atlas of Ratibor, the school children were practicing their presentation of the municipality, the associations and organizations were concentrating on preparing their stations.

At 13:00 the evaluation committee arrived and the competition itself began. The welcoming ceremony took place in front of the church with the song Ratiboř, Ratiboř, prepared by our senior girls and choir. Then we presented to the commission the life, work and functioning in our village with a small presentation involving children. This was followed by a stop at a field of swordfish and a visit to the library where the commissioners could learn how to write with a goose quill.

To the accompaniment of bells, the committee entered the church where there was a presentation of the cooperation between the CCE choir and the village, a performance by the choir and a short talk about the reconstruction of the church. By that time Mr. Pavel Juráň was already ready with his historic fire truck in front of the church, which we loaded and drove the commission to the bakery at Karol's. The commissioners were fascinated by the visit to the bakery. They were welcomed by Barbora Mrlinová and the baker and offered a tour of the bakery and the actual bread production, as well as a tasting of all the pastries the bakery produces. After returning to the church, the commissioners were already waiting for the Kosciks on the Parish Hill with the song On the Mountain of the Well. The commissioners were then met by representatives of the associations, who had prepared various gifts for them and presented the functioning of the
and achievements of their associations. On the stage there was a parallel performance by the pupils of the kindergarten and primary school and the little Kosáček children. After the two-hour presentation, the committee said goodbye and left to make a final evaluation.

At a press conference held on Monday, June 7, we received the Hope for a Living Countryside award. This award is given to a community that strives to revive traditions and folklore. I am very proud of this award because it is an appreciation of the work of the children who regularly attend rehearsals, learn new dances, songs and bands, as well as the leaders and members of the group.

At the same time we are advancing with this award to the national round of the competition, where the Kosiska ensemble from Ratibor will represent the Zlín region.

I would like to thank all of you, dear fellow citizens, for the preparation of the whole event, the presentation of the associations and for coming to support your own village with pride. For me, Ratiboř won. We proved that we can proudly and gracefully show off what we have in the village, what our goals are, how the school and kindergarten take care of our children and, most importantly, that we can live together.

Thank you to all of you who had an amazing day with us!

Martin Žabčík
Deputy Mayor