February starts off with a bang for those of you in the San Francisco Bay area. Today and tomorrow, the Russian Center of San Francisco is hosting its 20th annual celebration of Russian art, dance and music. This is a big shindig, and the event that inspired me to start a Russian cultural calendar for adoptive families last year. There is a great lineup, and even a large screen TV dedicated to the Super Bowl. Tickets are $10 for adults, but kids under 12 are free.

Also, today and tomorrow, a... more

It's December, which means, in the world of Russian art, dance and music in America, that it's time for The Nutcracker.

There are performances of the ballet set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's music all over the United States. I turned up 10 performances in Florida alone, at the Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College, the Emma Parish Theater in Titusville, the Van... more

Leading the Russian cultural calendar this month: something for the kids. It's "The Stone Flower", a puppet show that is being described as "an original Russian tale". It certainly sounds that way. The story line involves a young prince who must fend off danger and a scheming uncle to find a stone flower if he is to become the tsar. The show is at Children's Fairyland in Oakland, Calif. at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. on November 3 and 4.

On the other side of the country, a cabaret performance that deconstructs the Kurt Weill/Ira... more

I got a lovely surprise in the mail over the weekend. No, not the six new cookbooks I've ordered (the "Jessica's Biscuit" catalog was too compelling). It was my first copy of Russian Life, a bi-monthly gem of a magazine about all things Russian.

Maybe you know all about Russian Life; after all it's only been around for 50 years. But maybe you remember what it used to be--a bit too much one-sided cheering--and hadn’t thought to pick up a copy lately. If that's your only memory, or if you've never seen the magazine, you... more

I'm going to take things a bit out of chronological order this month because October 18 is a special date in Russian-U.S. history. As my Alaska readers know, Oct. 18, 1867 was the transfer of Russia's claim to Alaska to the United States. And if you are in Alaska, or going to Alaska this month, you should know that there is a full schedule of events in Sitka, where the transfer took place, for Alaska Day. They begin on Thursday, October 11 and run through the 18th, and include dancing, bike and kayak racing and an Alaska Day ball.

My... more

There are three Russian cultural festivals on the calendar in September. The first will be on Saturday, Sept. 9 from noon to 7 p.m. at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. The Russian Mosaic Cultural Festival, organized by the Philadelphia Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, features folk, classical, and ballroom dance performances, and Russian, Jewish, Georgian, Moldavian and Middle Asian food.

If you're in Silicon Valley on Saturday, Sept. 22, try the Russian festival at St. Nicholas Orthodox Church... more

After I completed the Russian culture calendar for August, I had another dilemma to deal with: Why was there so much Tchaikovsky on it?

At first, I thought it might be an anniversary that hadn't popped up on the Russian calendar I've set up. But no: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in what is now the Republic of Udmurtia (bordering on Perm krai) on May 7, 1840... more

If you want to brush up on your Russian culture, you can listen to a lot of Tchaikovsky around the United States this month.

Tonight at 6:30 p.m., Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival will feature a program of Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, including his Swan Lake Suite. The Russian composer's Violin Concerto is on the program on August 8, and there will also Russian music--pieces by Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich on August 3 and 4 All the concerts are free.

The Detroit Symphony Orchestra will perform... more

Want to help your adopted child explore his or her Russian heritage? Here are some cultural events taking place in the U.S. this month.

The first event came up in my July search, but it appears to be a permanent exhibit. The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has devoted a section of its gems and minerals collection to the gemstone sculptures created by Vasily Konovalenko. Many of the pieces draw on themes from Russian folk tales.

If you are in... more

They start music appreciation classes very early in my school district and, as luck would have it (and without any calls or letters on my part), there is always a healthy mix of Russian composers in these classes.

One of the first pieces that the kids get to listen to is Peter and the Wolf, the piece composed by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936, based on a tale that Prokofiev himself had written. There are many, many recordings that have been made of the piece, and it seems, from the cultural calendars that I do every month, that it is almost... more