Odessa Local Customs

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There is a lot to see and to do in Odessa in every season.
This is what I found out about the festivals in spring and other seasons. These festivals are planned for 2005, but they have all become traditional already.

March 6 – Maidan Odessa beauty contest
March 8 – International Women’s Day (love serenades)
March 17 – St.Patrick's Day (a sea of Irish beer)
April 1 – Day of Laughter (this is how we call April Fool’s Day) – funny carnival procession, concerts and shows and ,of course, rock with laughter;
April 2 – Master Gambs humor festival
April 7 – Rating of Model Agencies presentation #7
April 8 – International Day of Tai-zsi and Tsigun
April 8 – Master Gambs TV humor festival
April 10 – International Greco-Roman wrestling tournament
April 15 – Futuris Cup tennis tournament
April 20 – Two Days and Two Nights international festival of new music
May 1,2 – Body Art carnival (the world’s longest living picture at 11, Devolan Descent from noon till modnight);
May 9-11 – Nahata international tournament in karate and kobudo
May 21 – RMA festival (1,000 the most beautiful young ladies from Ukraine at De Ribas Street in Odessa!).

Guiest performances and concerts of Russian actors are not rare in Odessa and are attended by lots of people, both Odessans and the visitors of the city.
This is the program of the performance I saw in November 2004:
Intimate Life after Noel Coward presented by Mikhail Boyarsky and his theater in St.Petersburg.
It was a great performance.
The auduence broke into applause at the end and the spectators presented the actors with lots of flowers...
Simply unforgettable!

Here are some anecdotes that I found in Passage magazine of Odessa. I have translated them for you!

“Ivan,- a neighbor asks a neighbor,- you have such a big moustache, doesn’t it interfere with eating and drinking?”
“Treat me and you will see”.
....................................................
Sima shares her secrets with her neighbor Sonya.
“Tell me, Sima, - Sonya asks,- has you husband ever found unfamiliar men in your wardrobe?”
“Never. Everybody whom he found was his pal”.
...................................................
A man and his wife are bathing at Langeron beach.
“Look, Osya, you’re always by me. Are you afraid I may drown, dear? – the man’s wife asks.
“No, darling, but you have so much gold on you, I am afraid of loosing it”.
...................................................
Two friends meet. One of them has a blue eye.
“What’s happened?”
“Do you remember that lady we saw the day before yesterday? You said she was a widow.”
“Yes, I remember her well”.
“So you should know you were wrong”.
..................................................
Two ballet dancers are chatting behind the curtain after the performance.
“Look, what’s wrong with Rita?” – one of them asks – She looks outraged”
“She is upset she was given only fourteen bunches of roses”.
“Fourteen bunches! Is that too little for her?!”
“You see, she paid for fifteen”.

September 2 – City Day (concerts and shows, fireworks display)
September 3 – What?Where?When? game, international festival
September 6 – United Ukraine” international festival of regional TV and radio stations
September 7 – David Oistrach First International violinists competition
September 19-21 – Jazz Festival (world’s best jazzmen carnival)
October 2 – International Music Day (concerts and musicals at the Philharmonic Society and Opera and Ballet Theater)
October 3 – Julia Ryabchinckaya memorial festival
October 7 – RMA # 6
October 20 – Odessa Guitar Autumn (classic, jazz and flamenco guitar festival)
October 31 – Halloween at Odessa clubs
November 10 – International Youth Day (performances of students’ variety theaters called “Clubs of the Jolly and the Resourceful”, song festival, etc.)
November 18 – Black Sea Cup international karate tournament.

There are several art galleries in Odessa where you can see different exhibitions of painting, ceramics, applied arts, sculpture, china or even puppets:

Amis
4 Langeron Street
Tel. +38 048 234 80 10

Sea Gallery
6 Maritime (Primorskaya) Street
Tel. +38 048 729 33 09

Yekaterininskaya (Catherine Gallery)
16 Catherine (Yekaterininskaya) Street
Tel. +38 048 222 48 97

White Moon
9 Rope (Kanatnaya) Street
Tel. +38 048 715 51 26

Liberty
24a Langeron Street
Tel.:+38 048 222 48 67

Dialog Art Club
23 Pushkin Street
Tel.: +38 048 225 02 35

Bamboo
42 Bunin Street
Tel.: +38 048 237 93 80
Bridge (Most) Gallery
3 Sabaneyev Bridge
Tel.: +38 048 223 63 04.

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The Odessans and the visitors of the city have always loved going to the theaters of Odessa.
The Opera and Ballet Theater
is known all over the former Soviet Union countries.
The Philharmonic Society
often stages guest performances of different theaters.
You can also attend a concert or a variety show there.
I was lucky to attend a performance at both theaters and was very impressed by them.

June 2 – RMA #10
June 2 – Little Star International festival of young talents;
June 6 – Mini-Miss Odessa, Mini-Mister Odessa, Ukraine South beauty contests;
June 16 – White Acacia arts festival;
June 18 – Odessa Open Cup international rating tournament in sport dances;
June 23-27 – Semyon Trestin international tournament;
July 5-10 – Cup of Ports All-Ukrainian regatta;
July 11 – Forsage Autoshow at the airfield “At Two Poles”;
July 20 – Golden Mercury competition in the sphere of achievements in trade;
July 22 – Miss Tourism International, Ukraine, Black Sea international beauty contest;
July 25 - Forsage Autoshow at the airfield “At Two Poles”;
August 5 – RMA #5
August 8 - Forcage Autoshow at the airfield “At Two Poles”;
August 17 - Semyon Trestin international tournament;
August 20 – Nobility Meeting in Odessa “Nobles of the Commonwealth, unite!”;
August 22 - Forcage Autoshow at the airfield “At Two Poles”
;August 28 – Gankevich rock festival.

There are several movie theaters in Odessa:
Utochkino
22 De Ribas Street
Tel.: +38 048 237 70 71

Golden Duke Movie Center
11 Academician Hlushko Street
Tel.: +38 048 777 92 18

Odessa
1/3 Spiridon Street
Tel.: +38 048 226 28 27

Rodina
104 Mechnikov Street

Zvyozdny (Star Movie Theater)
60a Heroes of Stalingrad Street
Tel.: +38 048 252 81 94

Moscow
41 Varna Street
Tel.: +38 048 777 02 01