Maslenitsa Week is in full swing: festive events at the RUSSIA EXPO
Maslenitsa Week events continue at the RUSSIA EXPO. On March
14, the central event of the day was the opening of the Maslenitsa Festival — a
series of exciting gastronomic performances by the best chefs from different
regions of the country.
The start
of the culinary festival program was kicked off by the "Day of Basic
Recipes" in the "House of Russian Cuisine" pavilion. The
coordinator of the festival program was Ekaterina Shapovalova, the author of
the "Gastronomic Map of Russia" project, an expert in the field of
gastronomy and hospitality.
During the
Maslenitsa Festival guests will be able to taste about 20 types of pancakes of
the peoples of Russia with various fillings: karavaitsy, Arctic pancakes with
venison, pink pancakes of Arina Rodionovna, northern pancakes with cloudberry
jam, "grandmother's" pancakes with sour cream and red salmon caviar,
hingalsh with pumpkin, Far Eastern pancakes with crab, tabani with zyret and
honey, pachat and many others.
The guests
saw performances of the leading chefs of the Altai region, gastro show
"Siberian Maslenitsa".
"Our
pancakes are not ordinary, their main secret is buckwheat flour, because the
Altai region is the most buckwheat place not only in Russia, but on the whole
planet. And we love it and eat it almost every day and, of course, many
people in Altai make such pancakes. We took melted milk, soaked buckwheat in it
overnight, then it was removed and the milk became buckwheat-flavored. And
that's exactly what we bake our pancakes on today," said Alexander Yudin,
chef, member of the Siberian Guild of Chefs and Pastry Chefs.
The guests
of the festival could taste pancakes made of natural Altai products not only
with traditional sour cream and honey, but also with Altai cheese, jam,
mushrooms and even Siberian stag meat. In addition, on the "Day of
Basic Recipes" visitors to the Exposition tasted pancakes according to
traditional recipes: semolina pancakes, oatmeal non-lean pancakes,
"openwork" pancakes, leavened dough pancakes, baked pancakes and many
others.
At the same
time, the guests were told about the rich traditions of Maslenitsa and, of
course, explained why the first pancake always comes out "in a lump"
(or "kom" in Russian).
"People
use to say: "The first pancake failed, it came out in a lump". But
everything is not so simple: what does it mean — "the first pancake
failed"? It just means that the frying pan wasn't sufficiently greased and
heated. But actually, in ancient mythology there was a god Veles, who could
take on the form of a bear, and he used to roll down the mountain - in a lump
of sorts. Moreover, Maslenitsa in ancient times was called Red Mount, and every
housewife, when baking pancakes, put the first one on the windowsill as an
offering to the ancestors. That's why they started to say "the first
pancake goes to the koms" — because Veles guarded the border of the world
of the living and the world of spirits: including the ancestors who have gone
to the next world," said Marina Vyalkova, Merited Artist of the Altai
Republic, head of the "Yarmanka" folklore ensemble.
Pancake
Festival in the House of Russian Cuisine of the RUSSIA EXPO will last until
March 17. The program includes gastronomic masterpieces from nine
regions of Russia: the Republics of Bashkortostan and Mordovia, the Republic of
Udmurtia, the Ryazan, Primorye, Kamchatka regions, Moscow, the Vladimir and
Murmansk regions.
After the hearty and delicious tastings guests could get
physically active on the square in front of the Exposition's Main Street Stage,
where traditional Maslenitsa amusements were held throughout the day: the
guests were happy to take part in a bright ribbon carousel, braiding, round
dance games and, of course, in a merry tug-of-war. And it was possible to
capture the bright impressions of the holiday as a memento thanks to thematic
photo zones.
For those who prefer educational programs to noisy folk festivities, the organizers prepared a variety of workshops and creative meetings: within the framework of "Days of Traditional Culture. Great Maslenitsa" the guests were taught how to create a folk Maslenitsa doll and told about traditional dances and songs associated with the holiday. And, of course, at the peak of the Pancake Week a large theatrical and concert program was prepared for the Exposition visitors.
In the Maslenitsa procession,
the main character "Sun" sang folk songs and walked down the street
accompanied by stilt walkers, stuntmen, musicians and animators with
tambourines in designer costumes. It was possible to live through the entire
Maslenitsa Week in one day - from Meeting to Razgulyay — by attending the
theatricalized concert "Merry Maslenitsa — the Heart of Russia" with
the participation of students — laureates of Russian and international
competitions. On the Main Street Stage, the concert "Have Fun,
Maslenitsa" featuring People's Artists of Russia Nadezhda Krygina,
Lyudmila Nikolaeva, Sergey Borzov and others was held. And in Pavilion No. 75
you could hear songs and ditties and see traditional Maslenitsa rituals.
The full
list of Maslenitsa Week events is available in the "Events" section.
