Press releases

Belarus Events Calendar: June 2018

Heritage of Belarus. Celebrating the 950th Anniversary of Minsk

When: 15 June 2017 – June 2018
Where: Chelyuskintsev Park, Minsk

Future LIVE in Minsk

Future LIVE is an amazing space inhabited by heavenly creatures, magical colors and alien plants that are created with the use of modern technologies such as art installation and 3D mapping, interactive visual display, virtual and augmented reality. Visitors will be able to undertake an intergalactic journey,  get familiar with unusual art objects. According to the organizers, the exhibition project is based on the Educatement principles which allows learning in an entertaining way while the interactive multimedia zones teach to interact with the world around us, contribute to creative thinking and stagger the imagination.

When: 15 March - July 2018
Where: Dana Mall, Minsk
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The Artist and the City exhibition

The 7th edition of the Artist and the City project will traditionally be focused on the best representatives of modern Belarusian art. This year's draw is the art of famous surrealist Georgy Skripnichenko, who is often referred to as one of the key figures of the national art of the 1950s. In 2005 the University of Cambridge named him The Person of the Year. For the general public this is a unique chance to see the whole collection of the ‘Belarusian Dali’. The artist did not like to exhibit his works. Sometimes he continued to work on some of them for 40 years! The exhibition will travel to Vitebsk from Minsk after the City Day celebrations.

When: 17 May – 8 September
Where: Yakub Kolas Square, Minsk

New program in Belarusian circus

The Belarusian circus invites fans of this amazing art to see the new program “Circus! Circus! Circus!”. It includes spectacular acts in different genres  and features the best Belarusian and Russian artists, winners of international competitions and festivals, among whom are aerialists, contortionists, illusionists, jugglers, clowns, strongmen. A Geely Atlas crossover assembled in Belarus will become the “hero” of the program and part of the spectacular show of strongmen. The show will also involve performing animals: camels, lamas, monkeys, dogs. Presenting the new show, the Belarusian circus said that they are preparing for the 60th anniversary to be marked in 2019. Director of the Belarusian circus Vladimir Shaban announced surprises in the program that will run during the 2nd European Games MINSK 2019.

When: 19 May  - 22 July
Where: Belarusian State Circus, Minsk
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Golden Bee international children's art festival

The Golden Bee international festival which originated in 1996 in anticipation of the International Children's Day has become the launching pad for the career of many performers, among whom are Ksenia Sitnik, the winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005, participant of the Glavnaya Stsena popular show Anna Mushak, prizewinners of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest Andrei Kunets and Lidia Zabolotskaya. The main program of the famous children's art forum will include vocal and choreographic art contests in the younger and older age categories for young talents aged between 9 to 16. The guests will be offered an entertainment program. The festival will wrap up with an awards ceremony and a gala in the town park.

When: 31 May – 3 June
Where: Klimovichi, Mogilev Oblast

Festival of National Cultures in Grodno

The famous biennial festival of national cultures will gather in the historic city of Grodno representatives of 35 nationalities. The festival will kick off with a parade of participants from Lenin Square to Sovetskaya Square and an official opening ceremony in Sovetskaya Square on 1 June. Pavilions featuring national culture, traditions and cuisine will highlight the festival. This year, Grodno will host 19 pavilions, including two multinational symbolically named East and West. For example, the hospitable Belarusian pavilion in Lenin Square will host concerts of the country’s best artistic companies, and the displays of the most interesting rites from different regions. The Belarusian pavilion will also celebrate the Year of Native Land and invite guests to take part in the Hug Belarus international round dance flashmob.

According to the organizers, the city center will be turned into a pedestrian zone featuring a wide variety of events, including an open-air art gallery, a fair of arts and crafts, dancing and singing events, and street theaters. The program of the festival will also feature original film screenings with subtitles and a 3D-mapping show, which will be taking place in the courtyard of the New Castle every 15 minutes.
 
On its third day the festival will move to the Augustow Canal. The program of activities will include a theatrical parade, pavilions with national cuisine tasting, and competitions.

When, where:
1 – 2 June, Grodno
3 June, Augustow Canal
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The Age of Knighthood reenactment festival

The Belarusian skansen-museum in the village of Ozertso invites its visitors on a journey to the Middle Ages, the epoch of knighthood and noble actions for the love of ladies. The fourth reenactment festival The Age of Knighthood promises a diversified program, including historical medieval battles (buhurts), jousting contests, competitions among halberdiers and archers. The open-air areas of the museum will host a knights camp, an arts and crafts fair, performances of street and dance theaters, medieval musicians. Headlining the festival will be the Belarusian medieval folk band Stary Olsa, alongside with  Hardwood, Dokhodyagi Band, Trolwald, and  Butterfly Temple folk metal band.

When: 2 – 3 June
Where: Belarusian State Museum of Folk Architecture and Rural Lifestyle, the village of Ozertso, Minsk District

Motol Regatta 2018

Motol Regatta invites amateur canoeists to take part in the opening of the water season on the river Yaselda. This year the race will kick off in the village of Vysokoye to traditionally finish in the agro-town of Sporovo. Participants will have to cover a record distance of 52km! The second day will feature competitions on the water route between the agro-towns of Sporovo and Motol. The crew clocking the best time will be announced the winner. Participants will also be invited to join sports competitions and entertainment: beach volleyball, indoor soccer, darts, orienteering, canoeing and bike riding.

When: 2 – 3 June
Where: Sporovo agro-town, Bereza District, Motol agro-town, Ivanovo District, the village of Vysokoye, Brest Oblast

Festivals of national cultures in Minsk

A new tourist season kicked off in Minsk’s Upper Town in May. Starting from June Minsk’s downtown will host a series of national culture festivals. The countries that will take part in the event include Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, South Korea, Italy and – for the first time – Estonia and Great Britain. Sweden will be the first to showcase its culture and traditions on 2 June. There will be educational, cultural and sports activities and a children’s playground. Visitors will be invited to play floorball and table tennis, take part in Nordic Walking competition and presentation of Swedish cosmetics, kitchen utensils and gadgets and make a virtual trip to this Nordic country using VR helms. The festival will culminate with a concert starring Belarusian rock bank Akute and ex-vocalist of Ace of Base Jenny Berggren.

2 June – Day of Sweden
9 June – Day of Russia
16 June – Day of Great Britain

When: 2 June – 22 September
Where: Upper Town, Minsk
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Ballet Summer at the Bolshoi

Bolshoi Theater of Belarus will celebrate its 85th anniversary and the end of the season by a summer festival. On offer are long running performances and new productions starring much loved Belarusian artists and guest stars. The program of the Ballet Summer at the Bolshoi 2018 includes the premiere of the Petrushka ballet from Sergei Diaghilev's legendary Russian Seasons. The performance was staged by People's Artist of Russia Andris Liepa. The Russian Seasons project will be followed by Spartacus, which is the most "male" performance in the theater’s repertoire. The audience is also invited to see the theater’s latest production Le Corsaire, as well as its most attended performance Swan Lake and its most unusual experiment Orr and Ora - a story of birds narrated by the language of dance. The festival will end with a gala concert starring world-famous dancers and rising stars of the world choreographic scene. They will perform classical and modern dance pieces.
When: 6-13 June
Where: Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, Minsk

Molodechno National Culture Festival

The festival is an annual showcase event for Belarusian culture celebrating talent in song, music, poetry and art. This year the major theme of the music forum will be the Year of Native Land. A number of art exhibitions will be held during the festival, including “Our Native Land through the Eyes of Artists of the World”, and “Meyer Axelrod. Homecoming”. The centerpiece of the festival is the Belarusian Pop Song Contest. The solemn opening ceremony of the festival will take place at the Molodechno Summer Amphitheater. The premiere of the Forest Melody concert will be timed to the 80th anniversary of People’s Artist of the USSR and Belarus Igor Luchenok and will feature soloists of the National Academic Concert Orchestra led by People’s Artist of Belarus Mikhail Finberg. The festival will conclude with the award ceremony and fireworks. On the second day of the festival home grown talent will be invited to take part in the poetry and music saloon “Native Land – My Roots and My Beginnings”.

When: 8-9 June
Where: Community Center, Summer Amphitheater, Molodechno

Feast of the Sun international open air festival

Kupala Night is one of the oldest and most beautiful and romantic pagan holidays in Belarus. During the mysterious Kupala Night people pick field flowers, make wreaths and let them sail, make predictions for the future, jump across a fire, burn a wheel symbolizing the sun, sing songs and dance in a round. Those who want to be part of this pageantry are invited to come to the famous Dudutki Local Lore Museum that will host the Feast of the Sun international open air summer festival. Visitors will be offered a variety of activities, including games, wreath-making, rituals, master classes, a fair of handmade crockery, clothing, decorations, and linen products. Participants of the festival will be introduced to traditional rites and rituals; they will be invited to play traditional pagan games and watch a concert and a fire show. 

When: 16-17 June
Where: Dudutki, Pukhovichi District, Minsk Oblast

Bolshoi Theater Evenings in Radziwill Castle festival

The legendary residence of the prince family of the Radziwills in Nesvizh celebrates 435 years since it was founded by Mikolaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwill. Organizers of the annual summer open-air festival Bolshoi Theater Evenings in the Radziwill Castle invite you to visit the unique castle, which has been inscribed onto the UNESCO World Heritage List, dive deep into the atmosphere of the great past and appreciate masterpieces of world opera and ballet art to be performed by leading artists of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus. This year’s program is versatile and includes symphony and chamber music concerts, ballet and opera performances… Key events of the festival will take place at various venues, including the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Nesvizh, the enclosed court of the Radziwill Castle, and the castle’s chambers — the Theater Hall and the Hetman Hall.

22 June
• Belarusian Romanticism program. Corpus Christi Catholic Church
• Classic ballet evening (Sonnets ballet and fragments of the ballets Swan Lake and Le Corsaire). The enclosed court of the Radziwill Castle

23 June
• Four Centuries of Belarusian Vocal Music concert. The Theater Hall of the Radziwill Castle
• Evening of Sergei Rakhmaninov’s Romance Songs concert. The Theater Hall of the Radziwill Castle
• La Traviata opera. The enclosed court of the Radziwill Castle

24 June
• Concert Milonga with Serenada performed by the leading soloists of the string quintet Serenada. The Theater Hall of the Radziwill Castle
• Gala concert by stars of Bolshoi Theater of Belarus. The enclosed court of the Radziwill Castle

When: 22–24 June
Where: The national history and culture museum-reserve Nesvizh, Minsk Oblast

Tenth national folk art festival Beraginya

The Beraginya festival was established in 1998 and is dedicated to authentic Belarusian culture and traditions of other nations. It aspires for inscription into the UNESCO Register of Good Safeguarding Practices. This year the festival will gather once again folk music and dance companies from CIS and non-CIS states, folk performers and musicians, craftsmen and people skilled in traditional decorative and applied arts in the town of Oktyabrsky, Gomel Oblast. This year’s program includes competitions of dance couples, a tournament of children folk art companies, a contest of instrumental music choirs, performances by individual ethnic music performers and bands, master classes in folk songs and dances. The holiday Rudobelskoye Kupalye and the Rudobelskaya Yarmarka fair will traditionally take place alongside the Beraginya festival.

When: 22–24 June
Where: The town of Oktyabrsky, Gomel Oblast

Jazz Evenings near the old Minsk Town Hhall

Minsk music lovers and guests from outside the city have come to appreciate the international project Jazz Evenings over the course of five years. It has become a good tradition to go in rays of the setting sun to Svobody Square in order to listen to the best music compositions performed by the world’s best virtuosi. This time the very “heart” of Minsk’s downtown will host three musical evenings. Each is dedicated to a certain kind of music: Latin America jazz, traditions and modernity, only girls in jazz. Musicians from Belarus, Russia, France, Germany, the USA, Israel, and Cuba are expected to perform on the stage near the old city hall. The full list of participants and names of the performers are kept in secret but there is no doubt that everyone, who comes to this outdoor concert venue, will be in for a bright weekend, unforgettable meetings, and only pleasant revelations.

When: 23 June, 30 June and 7 July
Where: Svobody Square, Minsk