The festival "Madame Maslenitsa" will be held in the Peter and Paul Fortress

On February 21 and 22, the Peter and Paul Fortress will host "Madame Maslenitsa", a traditional Russian holiday in a modern interpretation. Guests will enjoy a choral performance, ethno-beatbox, straw art sculptures, a giant pink pancake pie based on Arina Rodionovna's recipe and a bright light finale on the shore of the Kronverk Strait. This year's theme is "Opening up for Spring."

The Carnival space will expand significantly this year. In addition to Cathedral Square, additional fortress locations will be involved. A performance area with giant straw figures of characters from Russian fairy tales will appear just outside the main gate. Art objects will become part of immersive scenes with the participation of artists and will form the visual route of the festival.

"The Madame Maslenitsa Festival is an example of how event tourism is becoming an effective means of overcoming seasonality. By combining gastronomic pleasures and exciting events, we create unique experiences for our guests. St. Petersburg has been holding the first place in the rating of the event potential of Russian regions for the past twelve years. Festivals of this format are an important tool for forming a recognizable tourist brand of the territory and can become its calling card," comments Evgeny Pankevich, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee.

For two days, a mysterious "Secret Gentleman" will roam among the guests. He will give gifts for the brightest festive outfits — from shawls to full-fledged Carnival costumes in the author's design.

A children's fairytale town will open in Naryshkin Bastion, with master classes, interactive games and readings of poems by Russian poets performed by ladies.

The literary line will be continued by photo zones with neon and a digital cube with "revived" writers and heroes of Russian fairy tales. Technology will allow guests to try on the images of gentlemen and ladies.

"The Peter and Paul Fortress is a historical space that continues to live and develop. Therefore, our museum, while preserving its traditions, tries to meet the modern demands of society. The holiday "Madame Maslenitsa" will present the traditional Russian Maslenitsa festivities in a modern interpretation. In partnership with business, we are rethinking the usual formats so that they attract citizens and visitors of the city, especially the younger generation, so that they are close to the spirit of modern St. Petersburg," said Vladimir Grigoriev, General Director of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg.

The gastronomic accent on the final day of the holiday will be a pink pancake pie, created based on the recipe of Arina Rodionovna, Alexander Pushkin's nanny. This year, guests will enjoy a special filling and a new record: about 700 kilograms of treats and almost 5,000 servings.

The culmination of the celebration on Sunday will be a theatrical procession of artists with a giant figure of the Lady from the main stage to the shore of the Kronverk Strait. The final will be a light and pyrotechnic art show.

This year, the festival will once again combine history and current formats. This is the author's interpretation of the traditional holiday, in which Maslenitsa is reinterpreted through theater, visual forms and modern technologies.