Press releases

Belarus Events Calendar: JUNE 2022

JUNE 2022

Minsk tops CIS list of cities for virtual tours

Valery Slauk’s exhibition The Magic of Graphics in Minsk

Illustrator and graphic artist Valery Slauk focuses on Belarusian and Slavic mythology. Many people have fallen in love with his illustrations to many folk tales and popular pieces of world and Belarusian literature such as Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, The Black Mill by Yuri Brezan, Nobleman Zawalnia by Jan Barshchevsky, Spring in Autumn by Vladimir Korotkevich. Dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the artist, the exhibition will show the magic of graphics in all the diversity of traditional characters of world and Belarusian mythology, including charismatic cats, insects, magicians, house sprites, giants, mermaids, nixies…

When: 19 April – 1 July
Where: National Library of Belarus, 116 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk

Program ''Vacation Without Socks?!'' in the Belarusian State Circus

With the summer season and the longest school holidays approaching, the Belarusian State Circus has unveiled the new program "Vacation Without Socks?!" The highlight of the show is a flamboyant clown trio "No Socks", the winner of many awards of prestigious circus festivals in Hungary, France, Russia, Israel, Spain and Monte Carlo. In addition to sparkling humor from the trio the audiences will also be treated to unique circus performances of aerial gymnasts, tightrope walkers, horse riders, dogs on skateboards, am unusual game of billiards, a high school of horseback riding and even boxing with kangaroos from tamer Anton Svetlakov.

When: 14 May – 29 June
Where: Belarusian State Circus, 32 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk

Art Minsk festival

More than 1,000 entries were submitted to take part in the Art Minsk 2022 festival. The jury selected 550 works that will go on display. Since 2018, this art forum has been a major showcase event for contemporary Belarusian art and one of the biggest exhibition projects in Belarus. The exhibition features artworks created in various techniques and genres, with classics and contemporary art having an equal opportunity to shine. In other words, the exhibition strives for the most complete representation of styles. Most of the works can be purchased on the artcenter.by online platform. Art lovers can also vote for the artists they like the most. The artists on top of the voting list will be awarded following the festival.

When: 13 May
Where: Palace of Art, 3 Kozlova Street, Minsk

Music and tourist season in Upper Town in Minsk

The new tourist season is dedicated to the 955th anniversary of Minsk and the Year of Historical Memory. The season kicked off on 21 May and will be running until September. Every Saturday visitors will be offered an array of activities. The 2022 program includes jazz evenings, the Classics at the Town Hall project, a concert by the Khoroshki dance company. In addition, this season students and professional actors will perform at a theater patio near the Monastyrsky Hotel. Local residents and visitors will also be offered open-air film screenings and will be able to see popular films by the Belarusfilm studio. Minsk libraries will arrange a creative promenade where people will be able to see new arrivals and meet with authors.

When: 21 May – 17 September
Where: Svobody Square, Upper City, Minsk

Festival of National Cultures in Grodno

One of the most popular and flamboyant festivals of the country will unfold in Grodno in the first days of the summer. Belarus is home to 156 ethnicities. There are 205 public associations representing around 25 diasporas. Every two years, this amazing diversity of cultures can be seen and heard on the streets of the ancient city. The most remarkable events of the first day of the festival (3 June) will include the grand opening of the Fisherman’s House and a round table “Belarus is our common home: the unity of nations and generations”. On the second day, a thematic sculpture will be unveiled, and national courtyards will be set up in the city center. These courtyards will showcase traditional culture, clothes, cuisine and crafts of 31 ethnicities living in Belarus. On the third day the festival will relocate to the Augustow Canal, where interactive zones, concert and sports grounds will be prepared for guests.

When: 3–5 June
Where: Grodno, Augustow Canal

Motol Regatta water tourism festival

Motol Regatta will bring together lovers of kayaking, canoeing and extreme outdoor activities. The water tourism season will kickstart in Sporovo on 5 June and will finish in Motol, the village where the first President of Israel Chaim Weizmann was born. Motol also hosts the summer food festival Motalskia Prysmaki that showcases specialties from various parts of Brest Oblast. In addition to water competitions and food courts, visitors will be offered an entertainment program: futsal, beach volleyball, darts, figured kayaking and bicycle driving.

When: 5-6 June
Where: Brest Oblast, the agricultural town of Sporovo (Beryoza District) - the agricultural town of Motol (Ivanovo District)

Ballet Summer at the Bolshoi

The summer festival at the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus will be running on 7 and 8 June and will open with The Pygmalion Effect ballet from the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg. It is symbolic that one of the leading parts will be played by Lyubov Andreyeva, a native of the Belarusian capital, a laureate of the Golden Mask Award and the Golden Soffit Award. The program will continue with the Bolshoi’s newest productions like the new interpretation of Swan Lake staged by Valentin Elizariev (March 2021), fabulous The Little Humpbacked Horse (October 2021) and The Sleeping Beauty (March 2022). The festival will culminate with a gala concert of world ballet stars from the Mariinsky Theater, the Bolshoi Theater of Russia, the Eifman Ballet of St. Petersburg, the Moscow Ballet of Classical Choreography La Classique, the Cairo Opera...

When: 7–12 June
Where: Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, 1 Paris Commune Square, Minsk

Ruzhanskaya Brama 2022 festival

The Ruzhanskaya Brama festival, which made its debut in the Belarusian summer program 2011, will enable you to get a sense of the Middle Ages. The show will kick off on the main square of Ruzhany, moving later to the grounds of the Ruzhany Palace. Visitors will see a museum exposition, a craft exhibition, take part in contests, and enjoy varied performance. Among the performers will be folk bands - participants of the Wreath of Friendship festival, and also amateur artists from Brest Oblast. The program will also include participants of the regional pop jazz music festival-competition Pruzhany Blues and the Belarusian dance company Khoroshki.

When: 8-9 June
Where: Ruzhany Palace, Ruzhany village, Pruzhany District, Brest Oblast

Belarusian Song and Poetry Festival Maladzechna

This year the Belarusian only national song and poetry festival will celebrate two significant dates - the 140th birthdays of Belarusian literature classics Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas, and the 75th birthday of founder of the forum - conductor Mikhail Finberg. The highlight of the festival, the National Competition for Young Belarusian Pop Singers, will feature 21 participants who reached the final through regional auditions. Apart from the opening and closing ceremonies, the festival will include Music of Belarusian Composers for the Generation of the 21st Century and Jazz Kaleidoscope concerts. Rounding off the program will be the Meeting at the Piano. Belarusian Romance project featuring Belarusian composers and soloists of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus.

When: 10-11 June
Where: Cultural Center, 4 Tsentralnaya Square, Molodechno

Gastrofest. Vegan in Minsk

Residents and visitors of Belarus are invited to try vegan cuisine and appreciate new flavor mixes in the facilities joining the Gastrofest. Vegan festival this year. The cost of one set is fixed as usual. It is also possible to order a delivery. Borjomi, the partner of the festival, is preparing a draw for a summer-long supply of mineral water.

When: 16-30 June
Where: cafes and restaurants of Minsk

Evenings of the Bolshoi Theater in the Radziwill Castle

The legendary residence of the Radziwill dukes in Nesvizh is starting its summer season. The open-air festival will bring together opera and ballet stars, as well as fans of classical vocal, opera and ballet art. The 2022 program will boast a variety of novelties, including symphony and chamber concerts presenting the Belarusian vocal music of the 20th and 21st centuries, ballet and opera plays from the world’s golden collection, meetings with young classical bands – Vivat-quartet and A.M.A.D.I.S. Brass…

17 June

13.00 – Belarusian Premieres concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
16.00 – At a Noisy Ball concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
21.00 - The Fountain of Bakhchisaray ballet. Radziwills Castle inner yard

18 June

13.00 – Music Legends of the Ancient Castle concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
15.30 – Big Country Songs concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
20.00 – The Bat opera. Radziwills Castle inner yard

19 June

12.00 – Music Treasury of Nesvizh concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
15.00 – Nesvizh Cocktail with A.M.A.D.I.S.Brass concert. Nesvizh Castle theater hall
19.30 — Castle Games at Nesvizh gala concert. Radziwills Castle inner yard

When: 17-19 June
Where: National Historical and Cultural Museum Reserve Nesvizh, Minsk Oblast

Vulitsa Ezha 2022 in Minsk

Vulitsa Ezha will celebrate its seventh season with three festivals. In a picturesque location within the Botanical Garden grounds, visitors will get a chance to try a special menu of the food court, drop into cocktail bars with a chill-out area, visit the Local Food Market with fresh farm products, learn how to cook new dishes from chefs, and purchase unique things at the arts and crafts market. Visitors will also be invited to enjoy interesting films in the open-air cinema, DJ sets and live music concerts. Entertainment and great locations for instagram photo shoots will be part of the program.

When: 18-19 June, 23-24 July, 3-4 September
Where: Central Botanical Garden of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2B Surganova Street, Minsk

Summer evenings in Mir Castle: A musical show in the Movie Hit style

The season of summer evenings opens in the Mir Castle complex. The organizers invite you to enjoy the best hits from Soviet movies at the walls of one of the most beautiful places of interest in Belarus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Artists and the orchestra of the Belarusian State Academic Musical Theater will present an enchanting show, which will feature legendary melodies from famous movies. Among them are "Kidnapping, Caucasian Style", "12 Chairs", "We Are From Jazz", "The Man From Capuchin Boulevard", "Midshipmen, forward!", "Cruel Romance", "Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession", "Irony of Fate". Viewers will have the opportunity to recall the music they are familiar with from a very young age or hear the classics for the first time and be inspired to watch these wonderful films.

When: 18 June
Where: Mir Castle, 2 Krasnoarmeiskaya Street, Mir, Grodno Oblast

Queen Show & Marc Martel concert

The tribute show concert Queen, which was postponed due to the pandemic, will take place in Minsk. Fans will hear 40 hits from the legendary band, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Show must go on", "Radio Ga Ga", "Somebody to Love". The vocalist Mark Martel is called a living embodiment of Freddie Mercury because of the amazing resemblance to the singer, not only in his appearance but also in the manner of performance and behavior on stage, vocal intonations. Mark's life changed after he performed a fragment of the song "Somebody to Love" during the Queen Extravaganza project in 2011, captivating the audience and legendary musicians. And he was blessed by the Queen drummer Roger Taylor to work for the film "Bohemian Rhapsody".

When: 21 June
Where: Palace of the Republic, 1 Oktyabrskaya Square, Minsk

Viktor Shishko’s illusion show Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty is Viktor Shishko’s illusion show. He is a finalist of the anniversary season of the Minute of Glory show, participant of the TV project "Surprise me!", guest of the TV projects "Tu si que vales" at Canale-5 (Italy) and "Le Plus Grand Cabaret" at France 2 and TV5 Monde (France). The plot is borrowed from the fairy tale written by Charles Perrault but the show presents an unexpected interpretation: bewitching tricks with people moving through space, floating in the air, people who disappear and just as suddenly appear, are united by a magical story. Tonnes of props and special equipment, costumes, magical special effects - everything works for the sake of creating a journey into the world of illusions. And the most fearless guests can participate in it and see the reality of what is happening.

When: 23 June
Where: The community center MAZ, 117a Partizansky Avenue, Minsk.

The 16th international festival of folk art The Wreath of Friendship

An ancient city on the Berezina River - Bobruisk - invites you to celebrate its 635th anniversary. This year one of the most original festivals in Belarus will be included in the City Day program and the CIS action plan dedicated to the Year of Folk Art and Cultural Heritage. The Wreath of Friendship festival will unite dozens of ethnic groups and cultures under the banner of friendship for the 16th time. Its peculiarity is that the forum participants do not compete and their performances are held under the motto of equal significance and artistic value of all national cultures and traditions. The teams will take part in a presentation of national souvenirs, national treats, the contest "A wreath as a symbol of the festival - as a gift to the festival", concerts and creative meetings in Bobruisk and Mogilev Oblast.

When: 23–27 June
Where: Bobruisk, Mogilev Oblast

Symphonic Drive Orchestra: A crossover concert in Minsk

Guests will enjoy an evening built in accordance with the principles of Classical Crossover - a musical style that combines academic and pop music. They will unite in a concert conducted by Vyacheslav Bortnovsky and featuring the soloists Aleksandr Muzykantov (piano), Nikolai Fedorenko (trumpet), Yelizaveta Kozak (domra). Special guests will be Nadezhda Lazutskaya (domra) and Darya Bobko (saxophone). The program includes a suite by Dmitry Shostakovich from the Bolt ballet, concerto No.1 for piano and orchestra by Sergei Prokofiev, a suite from Piotr Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, jazz compositions and popular themes (Jazz Medley) from classical works

When: 29 June
Where: Belarusian State Philharmonic, 50 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk