Spasskaya Tower International Music Festival
Every year when summer meets autumn, Red Square is transformed into a stage and thousands of people come to watch marching, twirling, dancing, high-stepping military bands and groups from all over the world. This year it appears that the coronavirus has kept many of the popular performers in their home country. But all the same, from this Friday until Sept. 5, you can see and hear military bands from Russia, Greece, Qatar, Austria, Mexico, Gabon and Belarus. There will be folk dancers, drummers, Cossack choirs and horses doing dance steps that most humans can’t do. If you think that this isn’t your thing, reconsider. We have never met anyone who was disappointed with the show. For details about the program and tickets, see the Spasskaya Tower site.
Classic Cars at Arkhangelskoye Estate
Once a year the magnificent Yusupov estate on the banks of the Moscow River to the west of the city is taken over by automobile fanatics and the objects of their devotion. For two days, Saturday and Sunday, the estate will showcase more than 80 rare and wonderful cars, old and new, that are usually hidden away in private collections and museums. In between oohing and ahing over dream machines, you can hear (in Russian) talks about everything from how to restore an ancient car to how to become a collector (Tip #1: Have lots of disposable income). Take time out for jazz, games, contests, drawings, lunch and treats — or a stroll through vine-covered alleys, past sculptures and pavilions, to the river. If some members of your family are less than enamored by cars and car-talk, they can visit the palace buildings and museum exhibitions. Don’t miss the little white Church of the Archangel Michael overlooking the river. For program information, ticket sales and travel advice, see the estate site here.
LeTatlin#4 Kite Show
Do you like kites? Who doesn’t like kites?! Especially on a sunny, windy day. Gallery XXI Century (part of the group Exhibition Halls of Moscow) and Mospriroda are holding their annual kite fest this weekend. Called LeTatlin #4, after Vladimir Tatlin’s beautiful one-person flying machine (now soaring over a hall in the New Tretyakov Gallery), the festival helps you both make and fly your “heavenly art.” On Friday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. you can get help from professional artists to paint your kites at the gallery. You can call or write the gallery to register. And then on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. you can send your kite into the sky — or come to watch them fly — at Dolina reki Setun nature preserve, entrance by Ulitsa Kremenchugskoi, 36. For more information and contact information, see the site here.
Ivanovo Pole Horse Festival
From Thursday through Sunday, Ivanovo Pole (about 60 km to the northeast of the city) is holding its 3rd annual festival of all things equine. There will be jousting knights and damsels in distress, polo, dancing horses, horses and carts doing tricks and maneuvering in mazes, not to mention breath-taking displays of horseman-and-womanship. Kids have games and other entertainment. Parents and grandparents have pop concerts. And everyone gets to ride a horse or pony — or at least feed the animals hay and pat their pretty equine noses. For more information about the festival, getting there, and tickets, see the festival site. Note: the festival is a Covid-Free zone. Entrance only with certificate of vaccination, QR code, or PCR test done within 72 hours.
Up on the Roof
For reasons unknown us, The Thing this summer is rooftop concerts. Don’t get us wrong: we like a good panoramic view as much as the next Muscovite, and sure, it’s magical when the city lights flicker on all around and below you, like underwater creatures glowing in the darkness of the sea. But gardens on the ground are nice, too, aren’t they?
In any case, on Sunday night you can go up to the Fantomas Rooftop (on Bolotnaya neberezhnaya) at 8:30 p.m. for a concert by the Imperialis Orchestra. This orchestra of young, cool, energetic musicians performs the very best Russian and foreign rock n’ roll and pop hits on classical instruments. After a night with these folks, you’ll never listen to your old version of “Good Golly Miss Molly" again. Okay, you might, but you’ll think of the Imperialises when you do. Tickets are from 1400 to 4000 rubles. For more information and tickets, see the site here.
Night at the Movies
This Saturday Moskino is celebrating cinema by organizing a spectacular all-day-into-the-night party of movies from all over the world, in every genre, and from every period in the history of cinematography. There is a foreign film program, a program of shorts, a series marathon, a program of new and old Soviet and Russian movies, a children’s program and even a program of tours at the FilmFund and the Art Theater. It kicks off with a cleaned-up version on 35-mm of the Soviet musical comedy “Circus” at the Art Theater on Arbat Square, and continues at a half-dozen theaters around town that will show everything from the best of Cartoon Network to the new musical “Annette” with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, directed by Leos Carax. Best of all? Films are in the language of the original (with subtitles) and they are all absolutely free of charge. But you do have to register ahead of time. For more information and registration, see the Moskino site.
Popcorn Movies
In Moscow, every night is a night at the movies. This weekend you can see the new blockbuster “Legend of the Green Knight” at several theaters. Based on a 14th century poem, this fantasy-medieval tale stars Dev Patel as Gawain, a nephew of King Arthur, who goes off on a quest to test his courage and fight the Green Knight. “Reminiscence” continues to scare people all over the city with its images of life on the planet after temperatures rise and most of civilization is under water. For kids there is “Boss Baby Family Business,” also playing at several theaters around town.
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