Journey to fairytale

January 15, 2011

Gazprom traditionally holds New Year charity events for socially disadvantaged children. Another New Year festive event took place at the Meridian culture and arts center on January 15, 2011 in Moscow.

The event was attended by more than 1,000 children from social welfare institutions of Moscow and the suburbs including the Way Home orphan asylum, the Wanted Children family center for psychological and pedagogical support, the Well-Being family and children’s center for social aid, the Child’s View charity foundation for supporting creativity in disabled children, the Preodoleniye-L rehabilitation center for disabled children, the Tagansky children’s foundation (regional public charity foundation), the Chernobyl of Russia union, the Sofyinsky orphan home, the Natali children’s historical costume studio theatre (non-profit partnership), Boarding School No.17 and Boarding School No.62.

Do-it-yourself celebrations

The guests were greeted by life-size puppets to the strains of children’s cheerful songs while professional aqua make-up artists of the Buff theatre swiftly changed the children’s faces into those of funny hares, tigers, cats and other animals or fairytale characters. The children changed their appearance with pleasure, all the more so, because this amusement is absolutely safe – the artists used only special hypoallergic make-up.

After changing their appearance, the children were entertained by balloon twisting animators. The animators wearing fairytale costumes created equally bright and amusing sculptures simply from air and gave them to the children as presents. Some of the little inventors twisted balloon sculptures themselves.

The good beats the evil!

After all the guests had arrived, the life-size puppets and the Buff theatre actors performed an interactive theatrical game show for children titled the Zlyuka-Nekhochyukha’s Secret. The program presenters – Confetti and Serpentine – tried to resolve the Zlyuka-Nekhochyukha’s secret together with the children. Of course, Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka came to help them. Together they learned amusing chants, held funny relay races and a New Year auction.

After the auction Grandfather Frost and Snegurochka wished a happy New Year to everybody and lit up the New Year tree. But the festive event wasn’t over because there was another part of the program – the children were offered the Kot-Baiun’s New Year Tale musical.

According to the plot of the musical, Kot-Baiun, the well-known story-teller, makes up a magical story for the New Year festive event. The famous fairytale characters – Buratino, Chippolino, the Little Red Riding Hood and Neznayka – gladly help Kot-Baiun compose a funny fairytale with extraordinary adventures. The positive characters of the tale hurry up for a costume ball but the Black Envy and the Green Melancholy are trying to prevent the friends from doing it by giving them bad vitamins.

Under the effect of the vitamins the positive characters suddenly become evil, cruel and rude. With the help of the audience and Doctor Aybolit, overcoming all the difficulties and finally taking the right vitamins they get to the New Year costume ball.

All tales have good endings. And as usual, this time the good beats the evil!

The New Year festive event for children came to an end as well. After the performance all the guests were given sweet boxes and books with the world’s best folk tales as presents.