16 city parks prepare 8 March holiday programme

Holiday events dedicated to 8 March have been arranged in 16 of the Moscow Department of Culture’s parks. On this day, all visitors will be able to enjoy free workshops, lectures, tours and concerts; while women will receive flowers at Babushkinsky, Tagansky, Vorontsovo, Fili and Zaryadye parks. In most parks, the entertainment progammes will take place between 1 pm and 5 pm.

At Zaryadye, the day’s celebrations will begin at the Nature Centre at 1 pm. A professional photographer will take an individual or group picture of visitors at the entrance hall and print it out immediately. There will be a lecture on the history of makeup at the lecture hall between 1 pm and 3 pm. Visitors will learn how the famous fashion houses began. In addition to this, the lecturers will reveal the main tricks that professional makeup artists use, and then cosmetics will be applied, according to the trends of spring 2018. At the same time (1 pm – 3 pm), the second lecture hall will hold a workshop where visitors will learn how to make bracelets with living flowers and afterwards, (3 pm – 5 pm), will make flower crowns.  Entry to all events is free for International Women’s Day.

Gorky Park has prepared several free tours for those who prefer educational walks. At noon, there will be the 14 Love Stories walking tour. The participants will explore Neskuchny Garden in connection with the love stories of Grigory Orlov and Empress Catherine the Great and of Alexander Pushkin and Natalya Goncharova. And the participants of the Women’s Duels, Balls and Entertainments at Neskuchny Garden that starts at 4 pm will learn why Russian noble women sometimes had to sort things out using weapons. The meeting point is Grigory Orlov’s summer house at Neskuchny Garden. It is necessary to register in advance to take part in the tours.

The free tour around the Spring Flowers’ Amazing Colours exhibition begins at the Tsaritsyno Museum Estate at 1 pm. It will be held at the First Greenhouse Building. The participants will see different varieties of tulips blossoming: multiflorous, double-flowered, fringed and even rare black tulips as well as various hyacinths, narcissi, scillas and other flowers. Visitors will learn what each flower means and how a crocus (or saffron) caused the 14-week-long “saffron war” in 14th-century Switzerland. It is necessary to register in advance to participate in the tour.

Fili Park invites Muscovites to the traditional Flower Race. Male participants have to run two kilometres holding tulip bouquets which they will receive at the starting line. The goal is to give a flower to each girl they meet along the park’s main walkway. The race will begin at the main entrance at 2 pm and end with a holiday concert at 3 pm.

An unusual photo zone will be created for visitors at Poklonnaya Gora Park, with a 2-metre-high flower wall made from peonies and roses on the main walkway. There will also be flower photo zones at the Hermitage Garden and Kuzminki and Tagansky parks.

Parks celebrating 8 March:

— Gorky Park (noon–midnight)

— Zaryadye Park (1 pm–5 pm)

— Sirenevy Sad Park (1 pm–5 pm)

— Izmailovsky Park (1 pm–5 pm)

— Hermitage Garden (2 pm–5 pm)

— Tagansky Park (1 pm–5 pm)

— Perovsky Park (noon – 3 pm)

— Babushkinsky Park (1 pm–6 pm)

— Lianozovsky Park (1 pm–5 pm)

— Bauman Garden (1 pm–7 pm)

— Sokolniki Park (3 pm–7 pm)

— Fili Park (2 pm–3 pm)

— Tsaritsyno Museum Estate (noon – 4 pm)

— Kuzminki Park (2 pm – 7 pm)

— Pobedy Park on Poklonnaya Gora (1 pm–5 pm)

— Vorontsovo Estate Park (1 pm–7 pm)