On 16 and 17 August 2014 the 9th Open Festival of Mining Author’s and Pop Song «Melodies of Mining Soul» was held at the cultural and spare time center «World of Pavlograd – the capital of Western Donbas». Festival of Mining Song has become popular in Western Donbas for a long time. Its participants have made friends as the song consolidates and they are looking forward to new meetings. Every year the Festival presents new talents, new relations and openings. In a creative singing.
This year the Festival has been held under the slogan «Unite in a creative singing of mining soul talents, for the sake of peace and our country’s unity». Songs authors and performers came from Kharkov, Makeevka, Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk, Ternovka, Novomoskovsk, Pershotravensk, Pavlograd, and Petropavlovsk, Yuryevka and Pavlograd areas. 
By known reasons not all people willing to take part in the event could attend the festival from cities of Donetsk and Lugansk regions where fighting takes place. Some of them sent a video appeal to all participants with their best regards and wishes of peace and good.
«Today is difficult time for everybody, for all mining towns and communities of Western Donbas. And therefore this festival is the festival-requiem…, - said Ms.Elena Shulika, deputy Pavlograd Mayor, during the Festival opening ceremony. - The Festival is attended with delegates from different cities of Donbas. Melodies of mining soul which was not broken will sound here. These people know the value of life both underground and on the surface.
May peace be in our country! And let our 10th Festival be attended by the representatives of all Donbas cities and it will be held in united indivisible Ukraine! Deep appreciation to all people in coal-faces, at the area of Anti-Terrorist Operation, to all families and relatives who provide their support, wait and trust that peace will come in Ukraine soon».
All attendance at the Festival observed a minute of silence of the fallen at the Eastern part of the country. Pictures of young people from Western Donbas who gave their lives for the freedom of Ukraine were screening.
The issue of holding the festival has remained open for a long time. Organizers had doubts it was correct to hold it while battle operations were taken place and people died in the country.
« We faced with the dilemma: the Festival is to get held or not», – said Mr. Sergey Voronin, DTEK «Pavlograd Coal» Director General. – The decisive step was made because we still remember and sing these songs written during the stern years of war. We know the symphony written in blockaded Leningrad. Creative people can see such colors which can’t be seen in our everyday life. And now we are supposed to hold such events to spite our enemies that want to separate Ukraine, enter our country and create here incomprehensible country. It is also needed to show our unit, that we are together, that Ukraine is not divisible among Donbas, Center, East and West. We do not want to live at somebody’s bidding».
That is our victory because our Festival has taken place. During the contest different songs about coal miners and soldiers, life and death, war and peace, about heavy fortunate of Ukraine were sung. And all participants loudly stated that West and East are inseparable. On 17 August the jury of the contest «Melodies of mining soul» summarized as follows.
This year the nomination «Champions League» was held for the first time where the previous victors competed. The following three best singers were determined: Vadimir Pigotskiy (town of Dimitrov), vocal ensemble «Creative» (town of Pershotravensk) and Ann Zayets (town of Dimitrov). Ann normally brings her students to the Festival every year who sit prize-winning places in various categories. This year Egor Polishchuk (town of Dimitrov) won at the category of «Soloists-Vocalists», and Vladimir Kapustin (town of Dimitrov) was awarded the special DTEK prize.
The nominee of Champions League Anatoliy Stary was awarded the special PRUP prize «For the faithfulness». Anatoliy is a drift miner and every tear he comes with his original songs to Pavlograd from a town of Krasnoarmeysk commencing the first Festival. Zhanna Arishaka (Pavlograd) was awarded the special Mayor’s prize. She was the last in the participants list under the number 53 but it was no harm to perform her song with guitar at high level.
Alexander Goncharenko (town of Dimitrov) won at the category of «Songs devoted to the unity of Ukrainian land». Elvira Mazhaeva (Petropavlovsk area) won in the category of «Singing Good Will Ambassador». People’s group vocal trio «Phaeton» from the Champions League was awarded the Weekly Newspaper «Herald of a Miner» prize – subscription for the annual newspaper. The second and third places at the category of «Soloists-Vocalists» were sat by Ekaterina Nechiporenko from Pavlograd and Anastasia Tokarevskaya from Peshotravensk.
Pavel Voitovich from «Pavlogradskaya» colliery participated in the consent for the first time and was noted by the jury. He was awarded the special prize from the «Center of folk creative work – Divokray» of Dnepropetrovsk Council. The vocal people’s ensemble «Gorlitsa» (Pavlograd) sat the first place the category of «Vocal Ensembles». Marina Kostogryz (Pavlograd), Yuriy Ukraintsev (Petropavlovsk area) and Nickolai Korneykov (Pershotravensk) were awarded the «Spectators sympathy» prize. Veronika Gamashenko who is 4 years old from Kharkov whose father is at the area of Anti-Terrorist Operations area now was awarded the soft toy prize as the youngest participant. Elena Tkach, The Festival jury member | 
