Festive table etiquette and a Balancing Plane, or how giving Easter Gift came to be

The Easter Gift city festival will start on 12 April. During the first days of the festival, people in Moscow will learn how to make treats using designer recipes, paint Easter eggs, assemble flying machines and much more. The festival will be held as part of the Moscow Seasons project and will last until 23 April.

12 April, Wednesday

A children’s playground will open on Tverskaya Square, with Mr Rabbit and his family meeting the guests. They will invite children to play the traditional Easter game, egg rolling: participants will have to bunker egg balls through gutters and then onto rabbit holes.

From 3 to 8 pm, there will be workshops on decorating eggs and cards with pressed flowers. Participants will be able to take their decorated eggs and cards home with them.

There will be live music on Stoleshnikov Pereulok. An instrumental duo is preparing a surprise: the musicians will play variations of famous classical works for several hours – from 3 to 7 pm.

In Novopushkinsky public garden, the first part of the theatrical series “Travelling in Dream and in Reality” will be staged. This is a story about how children dream about flying. The main characters will be owls, a magical dragon, a pillow, and a pilot. Visitors will be able to watch the performance during the entire festival. Also, children will be invited to participate in a theatrical procession from Novopushkinsky public garden to a site near the monument to poet Sergei Yesenin.

Everyone who likes cooking will enjoy a workshop given by culinary expert and chef-consultant at many Moscow restaurants Maxim Shitov. He will teach participants to make a salad with kinoa and seafood and buckwheat with fruit and yoghurt. The workshop will be in Novopushkinsky public garden at 3 pm.

A Balancing Plane workshop will be held at an animation chalet near the Karl Marx monument on Revolution Square at 3 pm. Children will learn everything about planes: how they are arranged, why they fly and whether it is possible to assemble your own plane. Sports fans will be invited to play mini-golf and bowling. The sports area will work from 11 am to 8 pm.

Special workshops on Arbat Street will be devoted to Fedoskino miniature painting. Visitors will be taught how to lacquer boxes. The workshops will be held at the literary living room on 12 and 13 April at 3, 4 and 5 pm and on 14 April at 3 and 4 pm. The main subjects will be the Moscow Region’s nature and Russian songs and fairytales.

The Book Market on Novy Arbat Street will host a meeting at 1 pm with writer Alexander Vurdov, author of the book Kanji Essays. On 12, 13 and 14 April, workshops on how to make vintage cards will be held there.

13 April, Thursday

The School of Fine Arts will work on Tverskaya Square from noon to 3 pm. Children will be taught the basics of fine arts. If the weather is good, the workshops will be held outdoors, and in bad weather – at the Living Room pavilion. Adults will enjoy needlework workshops: they will make Easter characters – chickens and rabbits. The workshops will be held from noon to 8 pm.

The Puppet Theatre workshop will be held in Kamergersky Pereulok at 3 pm. Children will learn many historical facts about puppets, try their hand as puppeteers and then stage a small play.

The Aeromobile – Amphibian workshop will be held at the public garden near the Karl Marx monument. Children will learn how this device can be used to navigate both land and water and will try to assemble their first aeromobile. The workshop will start at 5 pm.

The Paint an Easter Egg workshop will be held in Klimentovsky Pereulok at 3 pm. Famous painter Lyubov Shelkovnikova will teach participants to paint ‘pysanka’ – an egg decorated with wax and dyes. Such decorations do not require strong drawing skills. You simply need a good sense of imagination.

14 April, Friday

At the Kitchen pavilion on Tverskaya Street those interested will be able to watch how Paskha (Russian Easter cottage cheese specialty), Easter cakes and biscuits are prepared and also see gingerbread being iced. On 15 April, some of the Easter cakes will be put on tables in the patio to be consecrated. Those who want to try a slice will be welcome.

There will be a classical music concert in Stoleshnikov Pereulok. On the programme will be both Russian and foreign works. They will be performed by musicians from the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. Usually tickets are hard to come by but on this day, they will be free.

A workshop on painting and decorating birdhouses will be held at the Beaver Lodge animation chalet near the Timiryazev monument on Tverskoi Boulevard between 4 to 7 pm.

The Rag Handmade workshop will take place on Kuznetsky Most Street at 3 pm. Children will learn why the rabbit is an  Easter symbol and then will try to make this animal from textiles. The Vintage Umbrella workshop will start at 4 pm and be devoted to decorating umbrellas with an Easter theme.

Educator, TV host and author of books on etiquette Yelena Vervitskaya will hold the Easter table Etiquette workshop in Klimentovsky Pereulok between 5 and 6 pm. She will tell participants how this event was celebrated previously, what gifts should be given and what treats should be made.

Participant in the Master Chef culinary show Olga Slutskaya will present workshops on how to prepare meatless dishes at the Novopushkinsky public garden: at 3 pm, she will teach participants to cook couscous with parsley pesto and grilled vegetables, and at 5 pm – homemade hummus and bruschetta with beans and sun-dried tomatoes.

A lecture The World Religions in Moscow (with footage) will be held at 7 pm at the Book Market on Novy Arbat Street.