I. Metshin: “At the end of this week, you will see how the city center will change”

(KZN.RU, December 17, Ksenia Shvetsova). Kazan is preparing to meet the new 2019 year. By the end of this week, the city will sparkle with bright colors, the first holiday venues will open. This year, many surprises await residents and guests of the city both in the festive decoration and in the cultural program. The New Year's holiday program includes about 130 events for children and adults. Rustem Gafarov, the first deputy head of the Executive Committee, told in more details about it today at the Business Monday.

This year, festive decoration of Kazan will get a special attention in response to the wishes of residents and guests of the city. As a result, the New Year illumination on all bridges over Bulak Streets will be added to the existing design for the first time. According to Rustem Gafarov, the composition at the foot of the monument to Mullanur Vakhitov will become a new point of attraction, and a beautiful arch in the form of a snowflake will appear on Pushkin Street. The central pedestrian street of the city will be decorated in a different way. The Sovetskaya Square will play shine in new bright and colorful lights.

“We have invested a lot of manpower and resources in the design of the city this year. Especially the city center, where people traditionally come on holidays, where theaters and numerous concert venues with New Year events are located, where the main tourist routes pass”, said Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan. “Thanks to the support of the President of the RT, we were able to pay so much attention to the festive decoration. I hope that by the end of this week, you will see how the city center and the main sites of our capital will change”.

Traditionally, Christmas tree platforms will work in all districts of Kazan, they will open on December 21. In total, more than 60 holiday venues will be organized this year.

The central Christmas tree of the Aviastroyitelny and Novo-Savinovsky districts will open on December 25 in the park “Krylya Sovetov”. The guests of the holiday will see theatrical performances and play sports games. On December 22, the festive opening of the New Year's site in front of the KMPO will take place. A concert program, numerous competitions, games and pancakes and hot tea will be organized there.

From December 21 to December 24, New Year's performances will be held in the settlements Kadyshevo, Sukhaya Reka, Borisoglebskoe, and Severny.

The central New Year Towns will also open in the Vakhitovsky and Privolzhsky districts. On December 25, the Christmas tree will light up in the Gorky Park. A cultural program and a New Year's infrastructure are prepared for the visitors of the park. There will be a large slide with tubing rental, and a slide with a descent to Kazanka.

On December 25, a site will open in the square near the Philharmonia on Pavlyukhin Street. On December 26, a site in the Kaleidoskop Park will open on Syrtlanova Street.

“According to a tradition, New Year's Christmas Towns will work in the settlements Mirny, Kukushkino, Otary, Petrovsky, Koyashly, where festive events, snowman contests and sports relay races will be held”, said R. Gafarov. He added that the Town and the rink will open for residents of Kirovsky and Moskovsky districts near the HoC “Khimikov” on December 27.

In the residential complex “Salavat Kupere”, the preparation for the holidays has almost been completed. A new artificial Christmas tree has been installed on Tansyk Street, a festive opening will be organized on the same site with the participation of creative collectives.

In addition, Christmas tree complexes will work in Petrov Park, as well as in the residential areas of Yudino, Zhivploshchadka, Krasnaya Gorka, Levchenko, and Zalesny.

The center of attraction for the residents of the Sovetsky district will be the New Year Village “Khansky Dvor”, which will open on December 22 at the equestrian center “Kazan”. The symbol of the village will again be the unique house “Khan's Palace”. Guests and residents of the capital of Tatarstan will be able to take pictures in it with Ded Moroz and Snow Maiden, purchase gifts and souvenirs from the best masters of Tatarstan, taste the national cuisine. The festive program includes animation shows, performances of the best dancing and vocal bands of Kazan, conducting games and competitions, horse riding and an ice rink, said the first deputy head of the Executive Committee.

On December 21, a Christmas Town will open in Derbyshki. At the initiative of the residents of the district, theatrical performances near the Christmas tree will be held in the residential areas Karier, Privolny, Tsaritsyno, Voznesenskoye. In Nagorny Settlement, the celebration will be held in the new well-arranged park “Malenky Prints” (Rus. “Little Prince”).

On December 24, the opening of the New Year Town will take place in the Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda on the embankment on Mardzani Street. “I am sure that the decorated territory will become one of the favorite points of attraction for tourists”, marked Rustem Gafarov.

The culmination of the pre-New Year marathon will be the opening of the main Christmas tree, which will be located at the Family Center “Kazan” this year. “On December 27, we invite Kazan citizens and guests of the city to celebrations where all the guests will be met by life-size puppets, symbols of WorldSkills”, said R. Gafarov.

A beautiful ice town will be built for children. Themed buildings and ice sculptures will be presented in the form of “Ded Moroz and Snow Maiden”, ice slides and other items of children's hobbies. A room hot tea where kids could watch cartoons will be provided for visitors. The ice town will start working from December 27, noted R. Gafarov. The opening of the central Christmas tree will be completed with a salute.

The results of the contest “People Ded Moroz” will be summed up on this day at the Chasha. The project started with the presentation of teams in one of the city’s shopping centers. This week, People Ded Morozes will present their programs on the streets of the city. An interactive program indicating the time and place of speeches is published on the website of the Kazan City Hall.

“For three days, Ded Morozes will present their programs in unexpected spots, which will be posted online for voting. Kazan citizens will be able to vote for their favorite team, and the participants will get an extra score”, said Azat Abzalov, the head of the Department of Culture.

On December 27, a parade of Ded Morozes will be held in Kazan. At 4 pm, a march of the main characters of the New Year will take place on Bauman Street, everyone can join it.

This year, residents and guests of the city will be able to celebrate the New Year not only at the site in front of the Family Center “Kazan”, but also at the park “Cgernoe Ozero”, where the program with a disco and video broadcasting greeting from the President of the Russian Federation and the President of the Republic of Tatarstan will begin at 10 pm on December 31 and will last until 2 am on January 1.

According to Rustem Gafarov, folk festivities will continue at 19 sites from 1 to 7 of January. Daily events will be organized at the Family Center “Kazan”, in the parks “Krylya Sovetov”, “Sosnovaya Roscha”, “Chernoe Ozero”, “Kaleidoscope”, and the Gorky Park, the equestrian center “Kazan”, and the Gorkinsko-Ometievsky Forest.

Various events will be held as part of the program “Winter in Parks”. A football championship in felt boots will be held in the Krylya Sovetov Park and in the Gorky Park for the citizens, a snowball competition will be in the Gorkinsky-Ometievsky Forest and in the Uritsky Park. Open lessons in figure skating and curling will be held for everyone on the skating rink in the park “Chernoe Ozero”.

In addition, the program “Winters in Parks” provides free New Year's master classes in the making of toys, gingerbread, festive compositions, gift wrapping, and the making of postcards.

“The festival of creative sleds, which will be held on January 4 in Gorky Park, will be a pleasant surprise for the citizens. At the event, everyone will be able to demonstrate homemade sleds and take part in competitions”, said the speaker.

From December 29 to January 7, festive events will be held on Bauman Street, the central pedestrian street of the city. The choir will perform the New Year's songs for guests and residents, children's and animated performances will be organized.

The Mayor of Kazan noted that this year, the celebration of the New Year in the capital of Tatarstan will be much bigger than before. “11 parks will appear in the New Year's decorations, 60 holiday sites will be organized, including in the settlements. Kazan citizens together with children and families can come to the New Year's grounds at the place of residence. I hope that we will meet the New Year with a good mood. Welcome to our festive events!” said I. Metshin.

A lot of activities are prepared for children. For example, schoolchildren could attend various interactive excursions, performances, thematic exhibitions. Rustem Gafarov told that the events are organized in the multimedia park “Russia is My History”, in the exhibition and entertainment complex “City Panorama”, in the children's city of professions “KidSpace”, in the center “Zarnitsa”, and in the updated circus for children and parents New Year's circus program “Visiting Ded Moroz”.

On December 25, thousands of schoolchildren are invited to the ice palace “Tatneft Arena”, where the Republican New Year's performance will take place.

A special place in the festive program is occupied by charity events. On December 26, the Christmas tree will open in the Kazan City Hall. About 700 gifted children and children in difficult life situations will be invited to the performances in the City Hall on behalf of the Mayor of Kazan. In total, about 4 thousand children will see performances.

For the seventh year in a row, the charity campaign “Letter to Ded Moroz” is being implemented in the city. “For 6 years, almost 1500 orphans, disabled children and children from low-income families took part in the action. The total amount of is more than 3.5 million rubles”, said the speaker. He added that about 150 wishes would be granted this year. Postcards with dreams of children can be found on the Christmas tree in the building of the Executive Committee of the city until December 24, as well as on the social networks of the Committee on Children and Youth Affairs.

The Mayor of Kazan commented on this action. Every adult tries to fulfill the dreams of his children on a holiday, but there are children who have less chance of a miracle. He urged everyone to participate in the action and extend the faith of these children in Ded Moroz.