Open-air affair in a Moscow park

The annual picnic organised by the Russian entertainment magazine “Afisha” this year took place at the historical park of Kolomenskoye. People flocked to the annual summer festival on Saturday despite the unpredictable weather.

According to the Oxford dictionary, a picnic is a pre-prepared meal eaten outdoors. But for the hosts of the picnic -“Afisha” – it is a big summer open-air affair. Of course, there was a wide choice of food there, but that was just a small part of the activities.

“We have a children's programme, a food programme which is huge, and a music programme which is enormous- these are the specialties of the picnic this year,” Anna Piotrovskaya, the publisher of “Afisha” magazine, said.  

People enjoyed all types of out-door-sports from badminton and Frisbee, to scrabble and backgammon. While some watched cartoons lying on the grass, others enjoyed the outdoor fashion show.   

Writers and artists shared the recipes of their specialties at an expert cooking class, the dishes were happily consumed.  

For those who prefer glamour, there was a special area called Pink Paradise. You could have a hair-cut, have your make-up done and a manicure.

One of the most attractive events of the picnic was, of course, music. More then 20 bands from different countries took to the stage.  

One band from the U.S. drew special attention because of its enigmatic name, calling itself “Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin”.

“The name appeared long ago, when we were in high school. Will's brother had a paper about Russian history and the name of that paper was Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin,” Philip Dickey and Will Knauer  from the band recall.

The headliners – the Russian band Mumiy Troll – finished up the festivities with a powerful, but cheerful show.

“The show was really good, thank you. The weather was really nice, but a bit wet. But we like it wet,” Ilya Lagutenko, the lead singer of Mumiy Troll, said.