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KALAMAZOO—A series of concerts, workshops, speakers and fun activities for young and old will highlight the 18th annual Kalamazoo Russian Festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, in the Fetzer Center on É«É«À² Michigan University's main campus.

The 2013 event features musical and dance entertainment, educational talks, children's activities, and Russian art, crafts and food in rooms throughout Fetzer Center.

É«É«À² President John M. Dunn and state Rep. Sean McCann will participate in an opening ceremony, which will include a traditional bread and salt ceremony, at 9 a.m. in Fetzer's Kirsch Auditorium.

The Kalamazoo Russian Festival is organized by the Kalamazoo Russian Cultural Association and kicks off É«É«À²'s International Education Week. Admission to the festival is $10 for adults, $6 for students, $2 for children age 12 and under, and $20 for a family pass. All festival performances are included in the ticket cost, but food is purchased separately.

A partial list of Kalamazoo Russian Festival activities follows.

Performances in Kirsch Auditorium

• Golosa will perform at 10 a.m. This Russian folk choir strives to preserve the music and culture of the Siberian Old Believers and of Russian folk singing in general.
• Stas Venglevski, a virtuoso of the bayan, and Mischa Litvin, a master mandolinist and domra player, will perform at 11 a.m. Venglevski hails from the republic of Moldova and Litvin is originally from Minsk, Belarus.
• Kalamazoo Strings Go Russian will present an eclectic mix of Russian-themed music at noon. The group is comprised of guitarist Steve Kamerling, violinist Barry Ross, and Russian bassist Denis Shebukhov.
• American Taste of Russia will perform at 1 p.m. This group specializes in world music and is comprised of Svetlana Stone-Zobian, who sings in Russian, Latvian, Hebrew, French, Ukrainian, Italian and English; Paul Franklin, a multi-instrumentalist whose main passion is the violin; Janice Lakers, a pianist-singer with a jazz background; Mike Stoline, an upright bassist with a bluegrass background; and Allen Zobian, who plays several types of guitars in a variety of styles.
• Jim Krzewski, the "Spoon Man," will perform at 2 p.m. Krzewski is a musician, comedian and speaker who has played the spoons for world leaders, celebrities and other audiences around the globe.
• The Barvinok Ensemble will perform at 3 p.m. This vocal, instrumental and dance group is led by a Ukrainian couple who now reside in Holland, Mich. It will present popular Russian and Eastern European music. Performing will be Artistic Director Nina Tritenichenko, accordion and vocals; Dan Nicolini, balalaika; and Judy Sherman, balalaika and vocals.

Children's Room highlights

• Jim Gardner, "Juggling Jim," will perform at 10 a.m. Gardner is a scientist with a passion for Russian culture and a penchant for juggling.
• The Pushkin Dancers will perform at 11 a.m.
• The Barvinok Ensemble will perform at noon.
• É«É«À² School of Music students will exhibit and demonstrate the violin at 1 p.m.
• Children inspired by the "Spoon Man" performance are invited to do spoon painting at 3 p.m.

Educational programs

• Nina Vasilyevna Paulova, a former theatrical speech consultant and professor at the Khabarovsk Institute of Arts and Culture, will do readings of renowned Russian poets, focusing on the post-Stalinist period, from noon to 2 p.m. in the upstairs classroom area.
• Lorraine Fedorchak-Kraker will lecture and conduct a workshop on the famous pysanky eggs from 2 to 4 p.m. in the upstairs classrooms area. Attendees will learn about the symbolism of the eggs and create their own designs.
• Dr. Patty Rice, internationally renowned amber expert and author, will lecture on varieties of amber and amber art from various European museums during a multimedia presentation at 2 p.m. in Putney Auditorium.
• Judith Rypma, poet and É«É«À² master faculty specialist-lecturer in English, will present a visual and poetic history of the famous Amber Room at 3 p.m. in Putney Auditorium. Rypma also will explore the famous room during a reading from her book, "Looking for the Amber Room," at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, at the Portage (Mich.) District Library.

For more information about the festival, visit .

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