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‘Maslenitsa’ is a Russian folk celebration that takes place just before Lent – rather like a week-long version of Britain’s Shrove Tuesday. Following last year’s immensely successful inaugural event, the 2010 Maslenitsa Festival promises to be a vibrant and entertaining celebration of contemporary Russia and its rich cultural heritage. Organizers Ensemble Productions have a spectacular programme of music, dance and theatre performances lined up – drawing on the best of the 2009 festival while introducing some exciting new acts. In keeping with tradition, there will be tasty Maslenitsa specialty foods on sale – including the quintessentially Russian ‘blini’ (pancakes).

The main stage will welcome a variety of folk, pop and rock performers specially invited from Russia as well as leading Russian groups based in the UK. The programme includes folk and romance songs from the acclaimed ethno-folk group Pelageya; the Terem quartet, which brings together disparate musical trends with traditional musical instruments – including the domra, balalaika and accordion; the group ‘After 11’ from the folksong theatre ‘Russian Song’, founded by the famous folk diva Nadezhda Babkina, which specializes on multi-voice singing; Dmitry Danilenko, the recent winner of  a ‘grand-prix’ at the international ‘Slavyansky Bazar’ festival of arts (2009);  the instrumental folk group White Day celebrated throughout Russia for its balalaika and rock performances; the talented young singer Alexa Pol who has taken part in many festivals and was a winner in last year’s Russian song contest in London; and the charismatic bluesmen from St Petersburg, Billy’s Band.

There will also be performances by a folk dance group from the Tatarstan Republic, which represents culturally diverse regions of the Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church Choir of London.

The children’s programme on the Scoop stage will feature puppet theatre pieces, a presentation of Maslenitsa traditions with audience interaction, performances of traditional songs by children’s groups, competitions and games.

The festival is supported by the Mayor of London, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Moscow City Government, the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Municipality of Kazan City, Stolichnaya-SPI and Petropavlovsk plc.