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Domashny Ochag
Visitors to the Domashny Ochag festival can go for a Thai massage, get financial advice, play minigolf or watch celebrity chefs cook up a storm in the kitchen.
The festival, organized by Domashny Ochag, the Russian version of Good Housekeeping magazine, will be held at the Central House of Artists for the second time. With more than 15,000 visitors last year, the event proved to be a success.
"Our festival is great fun and truly a family event. The best thing about it is that it's designed for every member of the family," said Maria Vinogradova, the editor of Domashny Ochag, a sister publication to The Moscow Times.
The program seems to have something for everyone: from young children looking for fun to adult tech lovers. In keeping with the theme of the magazine, this year's festival will feature a domestic layout, with each zone in the exhibition corresponding to rooms in a house: There will be a kitchen, a living room, a children's area and a boudoir.
Medical and financial consultations will get a place to set up shop. A men's zone will also be dedicated to hobbies like fishing and minigolf.
For the ladies, there will be classes on makeup and beauty, with free hairstylings from Persona Image Laboratory.
Prominent spa salons, such as 7 Krasok and Palestra Beauty and Spa, will be available to give a sample of their services, including Thai massages. Visitors to the festival will receive a 30 percent discount.
In addition to courses in cooking and gourmet taste testing, food lovers will be able to sample the culinary secrets of Swiss chef Patrick Armand. Also gracing the kitchen zone will be French delicacies from Creperie de Paris, as well as a show of Italian cooking by Del Gusto Academia. Yulia Vysotskaya, an actress and celebrated chef, is also expected to attend and sign her cookbooks.
English lessons and arts and crafts are slated to keep the kids occupied. And children can try out a raft of new educational games at a Nintendo zone, where parents will be counseled on which video games are most suitable for children and on how to help them avoid computer game addiction.
For those interested in gardening, there will be an impressive winter garden area showcasing landscape designs, along with gardening classes. As part of the project, celebrities will design their own flowerbeds.
"It will be a territory of creation, " Vinogradova said.
"The Domashny Ochag Festival" runs from Fri. to Sun. at the Central House of Artists, located at 10 Krymsky Val, M. Oktyabrskaya. Fri. from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sat. to Sun. from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (499) 238-9843. www.fest.goodhouse.ru.
