New season in Kazan’s parks opens on May 17: what events await residents this summer
The programme includes the anniversary edition of Itil, theatrical and poetry labs, an open podcast studio, botanical walks, and themed parties
Yelmay Park: a Yummy Music lab, and the “What Do Parents Talk About?” club
One of the key challenges of this summer season is activating newly opened parks and building communities around them, said Aigul Latypova, the head of the Kazan Directorate for Parks and Squares, during the Business Monday meeting at City Hall. A major draw for children and their parents will be the new children’s park Yelmay. Under the concept “How the Park Became a Friend”, 150 events are planned to take place there.
In particular, the park will host a children’s lab in collaboration with the Tatar indie label Yummy Music, where young musicians will perform their own compositions on stage. Participants in the architectural lab “This is a Family Build”, together with residents of the Arkhideti park initiative, will create wooden art objects. On Children’s Day, the park will host a youth creativity festival organised by the Podrostok youth association.
Adults will have the opportunity to join the club “What Do Parents Talk About?”. Thematic meetings with experts in various fields — educators, doctors, entrepreneurs, influencers — will take place monthly.
Serov Boulevard: evenings with the library for the blind, sign language masterclasses
“We continue to develop inclusive programming in our parks, and this season we will pay special attention to the inclusive boulevard on Serova Street, where the entire programme will be accessible to people with various disabilities,” emphasised Aigul Latypova. “The boulevard will host events of various formats: sports training sessions organised in cooperation with the Dan complex, literary evenings with the participation of the Library for the Blind, theatrical performances and music evenings by inclusive studios, Russian Sign Language masterclasses, and educational meetings with experts in inclusive environment development.”
According to her, the majority of lectures and masterclasses taking place in other parks across the city will also be interpreted into Russian Sign Language. Blind residents of Kazan are invited to take part in special guided park tours, which will run throughout the summer.
Kaban Lake Embankment: fatirniki, poetry lab, and open podcast studio
The summer programme at the Kaban Lake embankment this year will extend to the landscaped area near the new Kamal Theatre building. It will feature a concert by a chamber orchestra conducted by Ilyas Kamal, with a repertoire that includes works by Tatar classical composers as well as contemporary musicians from the republic.
The event line-up will also include screenings of documentary films from Tatarstan, intimate concerts by local artists known as fatirniki, the open podcast studio “Kaban Seyli” (“Kaban Speaks”), and a poetry lab in collaboration with the youth magazine Idel — selected works by participants will be published in a printed anthology.
The embankment will also continue to host events that have already won the hearts of Kazan residents: open dance masterclasses in the Tatar language under the title “Kherekette — bereket” (“There is blessing in movement”), as well as yoga sessions, crossfit workouts, and running clubs.
Memory of the Great Patriotic War: Tours of the Victory Park and the Surroundings of Kaleidoscope, Reading of the Moabit Notebook
“Along with the activation of new spaces, we are also working on cultural programming for parks with historical significance," added Aigul Latypova.
She announced that, in honor of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, Kazan will host thematic tours of the Victory Park and the surrounding areas of Kaleidoscope Park. The latter is located on a street named after Maguba Sytlanova, a pilot and “night witch,” the only woman from Tatarstan to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
On June 22, a theatrical reading of poems by Tatar poet Musa Dzhalil will take place at Chyornoye Ozero Park. Works from his Moabit Notebookcycle will be read by actors and prominent figures of the city. Throughout the summer season, a series of creative events will also be held at the park.
Kazanka River embankment and the area around the Big Blue Lake: the unifying theme is ecology
According to the speaker, the unifying theme of the summer program on the Kazanka River embankment and the area around the Big Blue Lake will be ecology. Kazan residents will be offered guided tours, ecological masterclasses, and the traditional eco-rafting on catamarans. This year, the Urban Scientistlaboratory will be adapted for children and will introduce young Kazan residents to sustainable development.
A mobile recycling station will operate on the Kazanka embankment twice a month during the summer. With the arrival of autumn, waste can be recycled on the last Sunday of each month. The eco-station pavilion, which combines space for environmental awareness events, a recycling workshop, and a waste sorting station, will continue its work, added Aigul Latypova.
Gardener's school, botanical walks, public vegetable gardens
For the third time, Kazan will launch a city gardener school. It will take place in the park near the Svetlaya Dolina residential complex, the Aksyonov Square, the park by Chayky lakes, Victory park, and the Ak Chechekler (“White Flowers”) boulevard. Community gardens will appear in the park near the Salavat Kupere residential complex, the park by Chayky lakes, and in the Gorkinsko-Ometievsky Forest, where Kazan residents have been growing crops for eight years.
Additionally, residents of Kazan will have the opportunity to explore the city's nature through botanical walks. These will take place at Black Lake, Leninsky Garden, the Kaban Lake embankment, and the boulevard on Serov Street.
This summer, the Park Heroes volunteer program, which was launched last year, will continue. Volunteers are invited to help clean up the Kaban Lake embankment, parks near the Vesna residential complex, the Small Chaykovoye Lake, and Lebyazhye Lake. Volunteers will take care of green spaces, paint structures, and carry out general cleaning work.
The season starts on May 17: it will open in the Gorkinsko-Ometyevsky forest with the Demo of Summer holiday, which will last from 8.00 to 22.00. Kazan residents will enjoy a lecture hall, master classes for children and photo zones. In addition, workshops with representatives of the park communities will be held at the festival. Local musical groups and DJs will perform on the stage. The headliner will be the performer BLIZKEY.
