I just found out yesterday that Sunday will be a holiday – Maslenitsa.

It is akin to Mardi Gras, the end of the pre-Lent week for the Orthodox Church.  There will be games and food and the amusement park in Gagarin Park will be open.  And there will be tons of people out. It is also close to the Spring solstice – another festival that has some of its origins in pre-Christian times.  And as I read in one article, who wouldn’t celebrate at the end of a long, dark Russian winter.  Blini are the favourite food of the celebration because they are round, representing the sun. For a bot more background info, check this out – http://www.sras.org/maslenitsa_blin

Now, isn’t it lucky that we live just a 5 minute walk from Gagarin Park?  Incidentally, it is named for Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.

Snoopy and I walked in the park this morning, and I could see that the preparations are already underway – mostly snow removal! Here is Snoopy checking out some of the activity –

The front-end loaders were busy all over, widening the paths, clearing out nooks for benches

and clearing out the huge snow banks from the amusement park.

And especially around the food kiosks –

How lucky to arrive here just one week before a festival………..