"Literary yards" and "Book Fest" to return to Kazan this summer

City park spaces will be actively used for cultural events in the Year of Parks and Gardens and the Year of Literature.

(Kazan, KZN.RU, April 20, by Zilya Gayfi) This summer, Kazan parks will become literary grounds and open-air cinemas.  2015 has been proclaimed as the Year of Parks and Gardens in Tatarstan and the Year of Literature in Russia, and city park spaces will be actively used for cultural events, Natalia Grechannikova, an Executive Committee deputy head said.

The "Literary Yards" project, which enriched the cultural life of the city last summer, will return to Kazan, this time in the form of literature and music events. The "Book Fest" will be held in one of the newly renovated parks. Open-air film screenings will be resumed in June.

Thanks to the reconstruction of urban parks and gardens, the traditional "Aksenov-fest" will get its new site. The festival is scheduled for September in the "Aksenov-garden," which is centrally located on Chekhov Street. A traditional place of cultural activity – the Kazanka riverfront – will host a literary marathon – non-stop readings of prose and verse for several hours. Some notables – artists, journalists and politicians – have consented to participate in the project.

Ilsur Metshin noted that residents' cultural enrichment should not stop for a minute. "We are expecting an interesting and busy year; the fact that we held such events as "Literary Yards" and "Book Fest" in the Year of Culture is a certain benefit. It is important that we hold such events not just in the Year of Culture but regularly and that they become the norm," said the mayor.