Press releases

Belarus Events Calendar: OCTOBER 2023

Minsk tops CIS list of cities for virtual tours

Tour program ‘Loshitsa Estate in the 19th - early 20th centuries’

Loshitsa Estate, one of the most popular sights of Minsk, invites you to go on a musical journey. During the tour of the estate, visitors will not only see the stylized interiors of the estate in which the eminent owners Eustachy Prushinsky, Ivan and Eustachy Lyubansky lived, but also learn about their fates, habits, way of life, and secrets that the walls of the estate keep. Musical program for the tour will feature the polonaise of the diplomat and composer Michal Kleofas Oginski "Farewell to the Motherland", Napoleon Orda’s piece "Serenade", a piece from the collection "Polotsk Notebook", the works of the German Johannes Brahms and Russian composer-philosopher Alexander Scriabin.

When: every Sunday at 15.00 and 17.00
Where: Loshitsa Estate museum, 10 Chizhevskikh Proezd, Minsk

Masters of Art Olympus: Chaim Sutin and Marc Chagall Exhibition in Minsk

Belarus-born Chaim Sutin and Marc Chagall - artists of the 20^th century, representatives of the famous Paris School - became the heroes of Oleg Popelsky's works created in a unique technology using natural stones. Paintings presented in various combinations of stones are called hommages, which in French means a tribute to the artist's work. The Road to Eternity series tells about Chaim Sutin’s life, childhood in his native Smilovichi, Jewish traditions, rites and family way of life. The second series, Warm Home of the Soul, celebrates Marc Chagall’s works, where the main element is a synagogue, and the composition is complemented by the characters of the artist’s works – residents of his native city of Vitebsk.

When: till 1 October
Where: Minsk City History Museum, 17 Rakovskaya Street, Minsk

The atmosphere of the legendary festival in Monte Carlo will be recreated in Minsk by artists of one of Europe’s oldest circus dynasties, the Toni dynasty, that is 150 years old! Its artists won five awards at the Monte Carlo International Circus Festival, and in January 2023 they were named the winner of the festival with their act featuring golden Bengal and white tigers. The Minsk audience will be able to see this show for the first time at the main circus arena of the country. In addition to that, the Viva Carnival program will include crossbow shooters, trampoline acrobats, jugglers, tightrope walkers, horse riders, and aerialists. Original acts will be presented by Evgeny Komisarenko (Royal Poodle Show), Asel Saralayeva (Trained Cats), Alikhan Alikhanov (Rope Walkers and Tightrope Walkers).

When: 23 September – 3 December
Where: Belarusian State Circus, 32 Independence Avenue, Minsk

Karnei premiere at the National Theater of Belarusian Dramaturgy

The National Theater of Belarusian Dramaturgy will open a new season with a premiere Karnei directed by Alena Zmiter. It is a story of an eccentric rat-catcher who is looking for a place he belongs. One of key elements of the story is the House that symbolizes the connection with the native land and unites several generations. This is a symbol, a feeling, and a link connecting generations, experiences, times and trials. The performance is based on the story Kornei – Slayer of Mice by the famous Belarusian writer Vladimir Korotkevich, as well as excerpts from the prose, poems and essays of the author.

When: 1, 27 September; 8, 21 October
Where: National Theater of Belarusian Dramaturgy, 44 Kropotkina Street, Minsk

Traditional Belarusian Costume exhibition at the National Art Museum

The Belarusian "anthology of beauty" features about 90 folk costumes of six ethnographic regions of the country. The large-scale exhibition has been first put together at the National Art Museum as part of the annual campaign "September Night". It showcases almost 1,000 exhibits: folk clothes, household utensils, sketches and archival photographs that reflect the vivid regional and local features of the folk costume, both female and male. The exhibition also presents pieces of traditional Belarusian weaving, graphics, Belarusian fine art.

When: 9 September – 1 December
Where: National Art Museum of Belarus, 24 Karl Marx Street, Minsk

Music by Belarusian composers in the Minsk Planetarium

The music by contemporary Belarusian composers will be performed for the first time under the dome of Minsk’s Planetarium. The Wind Quintet of soloists of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus and pianist Viktor Kisten will perform in the planetarium as part of the Music and Stars project. Only a hundred visitors (the number of seats is limited) will have a chance to make a journey into the musical world of the modern talents. The program includes pieces of all styles, genres and performing techniques to be performed by both the recognized artists and young performers of Belarus.

When: September 30 and October 1, 19.00 and 20.15
Where: Minsk Planetarium, 2 Frunze Street, Minsk

Valentin Elizariev's 50 Years at Bolshoi Theater

People's Artist of Belarus and the USSR, famous Belarusian choreographer Valentin Elizariev will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his artistic career. His name is inextricably linked with the history of the national ballet school, choreographic art and the Bolshoi Theater, whose repertoire includes nine ballets by the maestro. The theater will be showing them throughout October, each piece twice.

The leading roles will be performed by both Belarusian and foreign artists. For example, Prince Désirée and Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty will be performed by soloists of the Hungarian National Ballet Vyacheslav Gnedchik and Nutsa Chekurashvili. Soloists of the Mikhailovsky Theater Angelina Vorontsova and Ernest Latypov will be featured as Odette/Odile and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake.

When:
1 and 4 October – Romeo and Juliet ballet
8 October – Spartacus
11 and 13 October – Sleeping Beauty
15 October – The Creation of the World
18 and 20 October – Swan Lake
22 and 25 October – Don Quixote
27 October – Carmina Burana, Carmen Suite
29 October – The Nutcracker

Where: Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, 1 Parizhskaya Kommuna Square, Minsk

National Festival of Architecture in Minsk

The National Festival of Architecture will be held in Minsk for the 15th time. The main goal of the forum is to introduce Belarusians to the art of modern Belarusian architects and to choose the best works and architects. During the festival, the winners of the Belarus Architect awards and the Lazar Khidekel international prize for innovative and ecological approaches in architecture will be honored. The festival will open with the 17th national competition of diploma projects of graduates of architectural schools of Belarus. The diverse program will also include the International Biennale of Young Architects “Leonardo”, the 21st nationwide contest for the best project, construction and publication in architecture, urban planning and design, the nationwide children’s art contest “Architecture of the Native Land through the Eyes of Children”. The festival will also highlight exhibitions, workshops of leading Belarusian architects, themed meetings, presentations of design enterprises, goods, technologies and services of foreign and domestic companies operating in the construction market of Belarus.

When: 2-21 October
Where: National House of Architect, 14 Karla Marksa Street, Minsk

AUTO EXPO 2023 in Minsk

The AUTO EXPO 2023 car show is back at Minsk Football Manege following a 10-year hiatus. Visitors will see virtually all models of cars available for purchase from official dealers in Belarus. The car trade show expects a big turnout, as the interest in cars remain strong, and the sales of new cars in the country keep growing. The car market is also witnessing a boom of new models, and the event is a great way to get close to them: 25 car brands have already announced their participation. Car enthusiasts will be offered a variety of test drives.

When: 11-13 October, 10.00-21.00
Where: Football Manege, 20/2 Pobeditelei Avenue, Minsk

Animayevka international festival of animated films

The Animayevka international festival of animated films will bring together animation film makers for the 26th time and feature eye-catching novelties. The 2023 edition of the Mogilev forum will focus on contests of animated films (18 years old and more), children's animation creativity (up to 17 years old), fine arts and crafts (from 5 to 17 years old). The festival will offer screenings of competitive and non-competitive works, meetings with filmmakers, workshops, children's fine arts and crafts exhibitions. A year ago, the Best Belarusian animated film award went to Belarusfilm director Irina Tarasova for her work about the Holocaust “263 Nights”.

When: 11-13 October
Where: Mogilev

LADY expo 2023 in Minsk

LADY Expo is the country’s largest beauty and health wellness trade show. The event provides an opportunity to explore the latest trends and services in cosmetology and aesthetic medicine, beauty industry, and also buy cosmetics, perfumes, designer clothes and accessories, goods for sports and healthy lifestyle, education and self-development. The event will feature the Forum of Women's Leadership and Career Opportunities, where guest speakers will share the secrets of success, present new trends and areas in business. Don’t miss the opportunity to attend the medical conference Women's Health, the International Forum on Etiquette and Protocol, fashion shows by Belarusian designers, lectures and seminars, presentations and workshops.

When: 11-13 October
Where: Falcon Club, 20 Pobeditelei Avenue, Minsk 

Marina Lobach International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament

The international rhythmic gymnastics tournament has been held in Minsk since 2002. It has become one of the most anticipated sports events in Belarus. It was inspired and founded by Marina Lobach, a native of the Belarusian town of Smolevichi and the USSR’s first Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics, who won gold in the individual event at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Today she is a famous coach and mentor of Alina Harnasko, the leader of the national team, a bronze medalist of Tokyo 2020 and the 2021 world champion. The format of the tournament changed last year. Now the scores of three athletes of different age groups – pre-juniors, juniors and seniors – are summed up and added to each team’s score. According to the new rules, winners will be determined for each event and all-around in every age group.. Spectators will be able to see famous gymnasts and enjoy their spectacular routines in various disciplines. It is noteworthy that last year 19 sets of medals were awarded, and 30 medals were won by Belarusians.

When: 13–15 October
Where: Palace of Rhythmic Gymnastics, 112 Pobeditelei Avenue, Minsk

TractorShow in the Great Stone park

The show will take place in Belarus for the first time. It is designed to celebrate those who work in the fields from morning till night to provide the country with food. This year the country’s tractor industry will mark its 70th anniversary. The first fully Belarusian serial tractor rolled off the assembly line of Minsk Tractor Works on 14 October 1953. All the stages of making this tractor were done in Belarus: from design to production. Eight teams (two people each) from six regions of the country, as well as from Belarusian State Agricultural Academy and Minsk Tractor Works are expected to take part in the spectacular competition.

When: 14 October
Where: China-Belarus Industrial Park Great Stone, Smolevichi District, Minsk Oblast

Afro-Cuban jazz in Minsk: Ark Ovrutski Quintet feat. Carlos Enrique

Cuban and African jazz rhymes and pieces from the repertoire of the famous trumpet virtuoso Dizzy Gillespie were combined in the program of the Ark Ovrutski Quintet. Ark Ovrutski is a double bass player, composer and band leader, winner of festivals and author of international jazz projects. The best jazz musicians from all over the world will take to the stage in Belarus as part of the quintet: the only professional Russian organist performing jazz - Vladimir Nesterenko, multi-instrumentalist, famous saxophonist and trumpeter from Cuba Carlos Enrique, singer, composer, percussionist and drummer Fidel Alejandro, virtuoso of Cuban percussion instruments Yohandis Vega. The audience in the Great Hall of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society will hear such hits as Caravan, Bésame Mucho, Samba for Carmen, Tin Ten Deo, Manteca...

When: 21 October
Where: Belarusian State Philharmonic Society, 50 Independence Avenue, Minsk

Saint Sophia's Bells festival in Polotsk

The festival of organ music Saint Sophia’s Bells is opening for the 28^th season and invites connoisseurs of classical music to attend concerts in the concert hall of Saint Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk. The festival will open with a concert on 22 October by the famous organist, Honored Artist of Belarus Ksenia Pogorelaya and the Europe-Center chamber orchestra under the baton of maestro Rail Sadykov. The program will continue with the Music Collections by soloist Ekaterina Melnikova (Russia), a concert to celebrate the 35^th anniversary of Ksenia Pogorelaya's creative work, and the Eternal Beauty concert featuring the ensemble of soloists of the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary. The 2023 festival will wrap up with the November evening "I see you in a thousand images..." by organist Ekaterina Ivanova and vocalist Tatiana Suchkova-Gavriilova.

When: 22 October – 19  November
Where: Saint Sophia Cathedral, Polotsk, Vitebsk Oblast

International music festival Golden Hit Song 2023

Founded in 1995 to preserve the best traditions of world music culture in the song genre, the international music festival Golden Hit Song remains one of the largest retro music festivals in Europe. The overture of the season will be the concert program “Jazz and more than that” by Belarusian Premier Orchestra and a concert of the folk instruments orchestra named after the People’s Artist of Belarus L.L. Ivanov.

The opening of Golden Hit Song 2023 will take place on 26 October and will bring together artists from Belarus (Alyona Lanskaya, Janet, Pesnyary, the art group Belarusy), Russia (Irina Ponarovskaya, Sergey Belikov, Alexandr Dobronravov, the music band Kombinaciya, VIA Leysya, Pesnya), Italy (Antonella Bucci and Mauro Mengali).

Later on in the program of the Golden Hit Song 2023 festival:

• 27 October - solo concert of VIA Sinyaya Ptitsa; retro disco party “Rhythms of the night city” with artists of Mogilev Oblast in the public garden named after the 40th anniversary of the Victory;
• 28 October – bard song recital - premiere concert “Songs of our circle”; the concert-program “USSR disco”;
• 29 October - concert “We didn’t invent this world” dedicated to the People's Artist of Russia, composer Aleksandr Zatsepin; chanson program “EH, Razgulyai!”.

When: 24-29 October
Where: Mogilev Oblast Palace of Culture, Mogilev Oblast Center of Creativity, Mogilev

International trade fair BelTexIndustry in Minsk

BelTexIndustry is the largest light industry expo in Belarus, a unique platform for demonstrating novelties, trends of the upcoming season and for holding events to discuss current topics of the industry development. Visitors can expect fashion shows of clothing and footwear collections from domestic manufacturers, B2B events, and business meetings. This year’s business program will feature presentations of companies, specialized seminars, and meetings with heads of leading enterprises, representatives of trade and media.

When: 25-27 October
Where: Indoor football arena, 20/2 Pobeditelei Avenue, Minsk

CINEMA MEDLEY: A symphonic show of soundtracks in Minsk Arena

The Imperial Orchestra conducted by Lev Dunaev will present a symphonic show of soundtracks from world cinema at the largest concert venue of the capital. The program of the evening is dedicated to music from world-famous films of the 20th and 21st centuries: the main themes are selected and arranged in the form of symphonic suites - medley. The audience will make a real journey into the history of world cinema, remembering such films as Star Wars, Interstellar, Game of Thrones, Schindler's List, Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom of the Opera, Jurassic Park, Inception.... Hans Zimmer, John Williams, David Arnold, Ramin Javadi, Andrew Lloyd Webber are the names of composers whose works will be performed in Minsk Arena by 80 virtuoso musicians.

When: 28-29 October, 18:00
Where: Minsk Arena, 111 Pobeditelei Avenue, Minsk

Night of Veles in Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve

The Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, the gem of Belarus, is the oldest natural ecosystem that unites 1,348 bogs. In October the living world gradually falls into hibernation until spring. The Night of Veles in the Slavic tradition is a holiday of transition from autumn to winter and is celebrated on the night between 30^th and 31^st October. Our ancestors believed that at this time of the year the boundary between the world of people and the world of spirits became especially thin, and the guardian of this transition was Veles - the patron of livestock, wealth, as well as knowledge and wisdom.

Visitors to the Night of Veles festival in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve will travel into the mysterious world of spirits and ancient gods, uncover the secrets of Belarusian mythology, learn to make a traditional doll-amulet, and taste aromatic herbal drinks near a campfire in a clearing in the woods.

When: 28-29 October
Where: Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve, 3 Tsentralnaya Street, Domzheritsy, Lepel District, Vitebsk Oblast

Forest King concert at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society

The Classical Music Theater Impression will present The Tsar of the Forest production on the stage of the Belarusian State Philharmonic Society. The audience will be immersed in the atmosphere of an enchanted forest filled with fantastic creatures - nymphs, fairies, trolls and elves, and will get into the abode of the forest king. The mystical atmosphere of the journey will be created by famous pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Edvard Grieg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Camille Saint-Saëns, Richard Wagner, Antonio Lucio Vivaldi and Modest Mussorgsky. And the keynote role in the show will be played by one of Europe’s largest organs that has 6,366 pipes of various designs and sizes.

When: 29 October
Where: Belarusian State Philharmonic Society, 50 Nezavisimosti Avenue, Minsk

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