With the blessing of Bishop Peter, on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, St. Vladimir's parish in Ann Arbor, MI held its first ever Russian Festival. This festival was organized by the St. Vladimir parish to introduce the surrounding community to the parish, the Orthodox Faith, and the best aspects of Russian Culture. Although the Soviet Union collapsed more than twenty years ago, the paradigm of the Cold War has proved to be difficult to break. It is the hope of the St. Vladimir parish that activities such as our Russian Festival can begin to move our society beyond this anachronistic concept and bring Russians and Americans closer together – and to encourage our friends and neighbors to learn more about our Orthodox Faith. The parish hoped that if all went well perhaps one thousand people might visit over the weekend. Not less than twice that many visited on Saturday alone, with upwards of four thousand visitors taking part in the festival over the entirety of the weekend! If you missed it don’t despair – another is planned for next year and it is hoped that even more people will visit to partake of Russian food and culture, and to learn more about our Orthodox Faith. A “save the date” will be sent out soon to those on our mailing list. To make sure that you get the word as soon as possible please email info@stvlaidmiraami.orgto be included. To see pictures of the festival please visit the link below:

 

 

See you at the 2014 Ann Arbor Russian Festival!