Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival October 2006

The International Pushkin Chanty Fund was founded in the USA in 1997 and registered in Russia in 2001. Over the past eight years the Pushkin Fund has been dedicated to preserving the Legacy of the great poet through various conservation projects, scholarships, conferences, publications, and the promotion of entertainment events based on Pushkin's works. Perhaps most importantly, the Pushkin Fund helps Children in Need "within Russia. This is the mission of the Pushkin Fund.

To fulfill this mission, the Pushkin Fund hosts Balls and gala events in such places as Washington D.C., New York, and San Francisco.The Pushkin galas attract the most elite and colorful members of society, including a host of movie actors, poets, and pop stars. In October 2005, the Pushkin Fund together with Grand Hotel Europe and the National Pushkin Museum hosted the 4th annual Pushkin Golden Autumn Ball along with a number of Pushkin related exhibitions, concerts, and performances throughout the city. The growing success of this program and the positive media response has encouraged the organizers to plan the Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival as an important annual city-wide event.

In 2006, with the support of the St. Petersburg City Government, the Committee for Culture, and the Committee for Tourism, the Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival will be the cultural event of the fall season. The corner piece of the Festival will be the Charitable Pushkin Golden Autumn Ball to be held in the Throne Room of the Catherine Palace. Also scheduled are the Russian premier of the classical ballet adaptation of Onegin by renowned choreographer Vasili Medvedev in the Mussorgsky theatre and a very special romantic rock concert in the Krysha Room of the Grand Hotel Europe.

Focusing on children and families is a priority of the Festival's organizers. To that end, the children's program will include the Pushkin themed inaugural opening of the new Water Park on Vasilievsky Island and the Pushkin Children's Ball at the Lyceum-Museum. On Mikhailovskaya Street adjacent to Grand Hotel Europe there will be an outdoor Pushkin Golden Autumn market featuring souvenirs, gourmet food, and entertaining street performances. The closing event of the Festival will be the Gala reception at the Lyceum on October 19 where Pushkin's famous school was founded 195 years ago.

The Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival is particularly important because it is dedicated to the great poet, whose name is symbolic for St. Petersburg. In uniting the cultural past and present of our city, the Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival will present the highest achievements in culture and arts of St. Petersburg. The cool, clear days of autumn with its beautiful foliage was Pushkin's favorite season and is most often associated with his creative work. The goal of the Festival is to identify "Pushkin's Golden Autumn" with the city of St. Petersburg, promoting the fall season as a most attractive and romantic time to enjoy the city.

There is no other Festival in St. Petersburg during this special time of the year. Hence, the Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival, will complement the other seasonal festivals {"White Nights" and "Palaces of St. Petersburg" in summer, "Easter Festival" in spring, and "Arts Square Festival" in the winter) and will become symbolic of the revival of traditions and the importance of St. Petersburg in the social and cultural life of Russia.

The fact that an internationally based charitable Fund will be the organizer of the festival will have broad and positive implications and will attract the attention of the international media. The 2006 Pushkin Golden Autumn Festival in St. Petersburg presents an unparalleled opportunity for interested sponsors to participate in an especially worthwhile cause and at the same time realize significant recognition for their contribution to Russian social and cultural welfare.