The Ann Arbor Russian Festival will celebrate Russian culture with food, music, dance, theater, traditions, church tours and other family-friendly entertainments. The festival debuts on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and continues Sunday, Sept. 22, from 1 to 7 p.m.
Parking and shuttles to the church grounds will be at Peace Lutheran Church (8260 Jackson Road) and the Moose Lodge (10160 Jackson Road). The church is located at 9900 Jackson Road, just outside of Ann Arbor. Admission is free. Food, drinks and other items will be for sale.
The only Russian festival in the area, this new event will be a chance to eat borsch, piroshki and other Russian dishes, listen to folk music and watch costumed dancers, sample vodka infusions, and taste authentic sweets and teas.
The goal of the Ann Arbor Russian Festival is simple. "I hope it will be a cool way to show people our culture," says Yuliya Rodzianko, a church member who is coordinating the festival.
St. Vladimir's parishioners and the Rev. Fr. Gregory Joyce sought advice from another church, St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which holds the annual Ya'ssoo Greek Festival.
"We thought, the Greeks do one, so why don't we do one? They gave us a lot of guidance for the first one. They said, the third one will be a breeze. I sure hope so!" Rodzianko laughs.
"If we wait, that's going to be another 5 years. This festival could even help us fundraise," Rodzianko says.
Rodzianko is inspired by a number of other Russian festivals she has attended. "My in-laws are from Cleveland, and they do one down there. I was really inspired by that one," she says. And the closest one she has found is held in Kalamazoo.
Russian-style food will be served by church members and participating restaurants from Ann Arbor and the Detroit area.
"A few are Russian restaurants from the Detroit area. Around here, Amadeus is actually Polish [and other central European food], but they can cook Russian food well," she says. Another local restaurant that fits that bill is the Heidelberg, mainly German cuisine.
A Russian tearoom will serve sweets. Ann Arbor's Tea Haus is bringing a variety of teas.
"We want to decorate it in a Russian style," Rodzianko says. "We will have a samover. It's like an old Russian tea pot," she explains. "You can make tea with it, but it's mostly like a decoration. We will put that in the center and put Russian scarves all over the place," she says.
The idea to judge a "Vodka Infusion Competition," on Sunday, starting at 2 p.m., came from a Russian festival in Chicago.
"It is definitely not a drinking competition," Rodzainko says. People are competing to make the best Vodka infusion. Adults can drink responsibly.
Musicians featured at the festival will include Michael Pastukhov on the balalaika, a stringed instrument, violinist Henrik Karapetyan and pianist Yevgenia Lavrovskaya, folk musicians Vlad and Raisa Murkis, and the church's choir. DJ Freddy will get the crowd dancing.
Dancers will perform, including Nikolai Morschakov doing Russian Vaganova ballet, St. Vladimir's Adult Dance Group and the church's Teen Dance Group.
"One of our parishioner's husbands [John Hill] directed a comedy play, 'The Proposal,' that showed at the Civil Theater. It's another good cultural thing we will have at the festival," Rodzianko says of the play, which was originally written in Russian by Anton Chekhov. Hill translated it into English.
Parishioners have been making Russian-style aprons and simple kokoshniki, traditional headpieces, for the festival. Among other activities for children, kids can make their own kokoshniki.
"If you actually go to Russian and buy a real one, they are a lot of money. Back years and years ago, people wore them all the time - especially rich people. Now it is mostly for things like dancing, like for a Russian costume in a traditional dance," Rodzianko says.
St. Vladimir is a combination of people born overseas, like Rodzianko, and people of different backgrounds who were born in the U.S. One thing this particular group has in common is the Russian Orthodox faith.
Church tours will introduce people to the parish and the faith.
Other happenings include Russian bell ringing, "Teremok" children's puppet shows at various times, other activities for kid such as a bounce house and hair braiding, and a few vendors will set up in front of the church.
View of complete festival schedule online or phone the church at (734) 475-4590.
Unlike learning about a culture from books, news or TV, cultural festivals engage all of the senses. The learning is more hands-on. The best way to experience things like food, music and dancing is in person.
That is not to say that you can learn everything about a culture from festivals, but they are an introduction. One thing it does is celebrate both the past and present of cultural heritage. Traditions of generations past are coupled with a celebration of the living community.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment