Where will the smelt festival take place
Smelt Festival
History of the holiday
Smelt is one of the symbols of St. Petersburg, inextricably linked with its history. After the founding of the city, the Neva smelt became a food fish for the growing population of the northern capital. In 1705, Peter I issued a decree on the support of fishermen who caught smelt. According to legend, Peter I called smelt the king-fish. In the spring of 1708, by decree of Peter I, the first fiesta dedicated to smelt was held in St. Petersburg under construction. The emperor himself at that moment was in the army, fighting against the Swedish troops of Charles XII. Fiesta in the absence of Peter was led by his closest associate - the most serene prince and St. Petersburg governor Alexander Menshikov. For the first time after a historical break, the tradition started by Peter the Great was resumed on May 11, 2003 in honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The celebrations, which brought together the world elite, opened with the Smelt Festival in the heart of the great city - the Peter and Paul Fortress. Since then, more than 50 thousand people take part in the festival every year.
Significant events in the modern history of the Holiday
- 2007
May 11, 2007., on the eve of the V Anniversary Smelt Festival, a shark was caught near the Volodarsky Bridge in St. Petersburg. The sea predator, which ended up in the waters of the Neva, became a valuable exhibit of the Zoological Museum and caused a lot of discussion in scientific circles and the media not only in St. Petersburg, but throughout Russia. In December 2007, the predator became a symbol of the Salnikov Cup International Swimming Competition, which took place in the northern capital. Cups in the form of silver sharks were awarded to the best athletes. The shark has firmly entered the mythology of the city and has become a kind of totem of the Smelt Festival.
May 12, 2007, The Smelt Festival was held for the first time in the Sokolniki Park of Culture and Leisure in Moscow.
In St. Petersburg, the Holiday lasted 2 days (May 12-13) and for the first time two venues were involved at once: Europe Square joined the traditional venue. More than 80,000 guests gathered for the holiday, about 22 tons of smelt were eaten.
- 2008
As part of the VI Smelt Festival, a public celebration of the 70th anniversary of Maxim Shostakovich took place. On this day, almost for the first time in the history of the city, the world cultural elite and citizens united [ neutrality?] . Maestro Shostakovich, Valery Gergiev and other honored guests of the Festival received congratulations from Petersburgers, participated in sampling the general's fish soup (cooking fish soup in a 1,500-liter cauldron is one of the traditional events of the Festival). Reviews of the event were unambiguously positive from the maestro, from the townspeople, and in the media.
- 2010
The 8th Smelt Festival was visited by Tonino Guerra, a legend of world cinema, a poet and an artist. Maestro Guerra was initiated into Petersburgers and received congratulations on his 90th birthday from the guests of the Festival.
- 2011
The world-famous sculptor Grigory Pototsky created a sculpture of smelt in bronze, which became a symbol of the 9th Feast.
The fourteenth nationwide Smelt Festival in St. Petersburg will be held from 13 to 14 May 2017 at the Lenexpo. Smelt has long become a BRAND of St. Petersburg, along with "drawing bridges" or "scarlet sails", and the annual "Smelt Festival" is an important social event for the whole city. What is the Smelt Festival and what awaits the guests who have visited this fascinating festival?
Traditional urban Smelt Festival is an annual open-air city picnic for all Petersburgers and guests of the city, in which the whole family can participate and choose an activity according to their own taste and desire. A distinctive feature of the Smelt Festival will be a large number of fun activities and games that will take place throughout the territory, and not just on the stage.
Up to 50 thousand people take part in it every year. Chef's hats, like sea sailboats, flicker in a crazy race for gastronomic delights, and the air is permeated with spring aroma. The legendary fish, a modest favorite of the townspeople, unites Petersburgers in a single impulse of a holiday dedicated to spring, the sun and HER!
"Smelt Holiday" is a bright holiday for all Petersburgers and guests of our city, in which you can participate with the whole family and choose an activity according to your own taste and desire. Everyone finds something interesting for himself at the Holiday, but they will meet each guest "introverts" - living statues, shaking your hand as a sign of greeting and honoring the noble "smelt".
Smelt Festival 2017 program in St. Petersburg
Smelt Festival 2017 at Lenexpo. The concert and entertainment program will last two days. On the central stage of the holiday there will be performances by artists of the St. Petersburg stage, numbers of the original genre, and all active visitors to the holiday will become participants in thematic contests and games. The winners receive wonderful prizes, and there will also be many surprises that those who come to Lenexpo will learn about at the festival itself.
Holiday program
12.00 - Grand opening of the holiday
12.20 - Solemn sampling from the "General's fish soup"
13.10 - Program of the First Children's Variety Center
13.30 - Action "Stocking"
14.20 - Concert program
15.30 -VIA "Creative Battalion"
17.15 - Awarding the winners of fishing competitions
17.45 - Free the Parrots!
18.15 - Rassvetov project
18.30 - PITCH group
19.00- Group "Parheliy"
19.30 - Group "MOSSS"
12.00 - Taking a sample from the "General's fish soup"
12.30 - Start of the fishing competition
13.00 - Action "Goldfish in a silver flock"
13.30 - Stocking action (release of fry into the bay)
14.00 - We meet the participants of the Film Festival "Vivat, cinema of Russia!"
14.30 - Courage FM show group
15.00 - Program of the First Children's Variety Center
16.30 - Show group "Light"
18.00 - Gas trio "Lemonade"
18.30 - Rock group "Okkervil"
19.00 - Rock band "Red's Cool"
For our young viewers various master classes, children's play areas with many attractions, trampolines will be installed, and cheerful animators of the Piterland water park will involve them in the world of water attractions.
Everyone who wants to learn to “jump and fly” is welcome trampolines of the professional sports club "BUMP!". The coaching staff will demonstrate the performances of professionals and a master class! During the whole holiday for you free of charge: professional sports trampolines, fitness mini-trampolines, and a special recreation area with huge cubes and a slide with balls. All this is a large area of sports and relaxation for a healthy lifestyle.
The Smelt Festival will once again delight guests with an event "stocking" in which everyone can take part. Thousands of salmon fry will be released into the waters of the Gulf of Finland to preserve the fish population.
Sports smelt
Segwaydrome - on dry land, like on water, but on a boat
"Caviar of Thrones" - bumperball
Trout fishing with different rods
Fun fishing - catch a free sprat in a tomato
Smelt - Strength - kettlebell exercises
Give mooring lines - tug of war
AND MANY, MANY, MANY PRIZES!!!
From the very opening of the holiday preparation and tasting of "General's fish soup" according to the recipe of the first Governor-General of St. Petersburg A.D. Menshikov - this is the "know-how" of the organizers of the holiday, which annually pleases visitors. The secret of its taste will be known to everyone who will be next to the 1000-liter boiler in time, in which the desired dish will be prepared.
Holiday novelty - cooking and tasting traditional Finnish fish soup, which will be cooked right on the holiday according to old recipes from the country of Suomi.
Art smelt
12:00 Noon Salsa Drome - Tango Jam Club charges!
12:40 Master class from "Mitkov" getting ready for serious work
13:30 Battle of poets - express writing poems about Smelt
14:30 Awarding the winners of the cartoon and caricature contest "Laughing Koryu-Shock" from the art group "Mitki"
15.00 "Mitki" burn! Creative chaos.
16:00 — ART&WINE Fine art art party.
17:30 Evening Salsa - Tango Jam Club relaxes!
12:00 - 20.00 Exhibitions open
- "Mitki" - legendary St. Petersburg artists
- "Fish-City" - creative association "4 elements"
- "Funny Koryu-Shock" - the work of the winners of the cartoon and cartoon contest
- "Smelt is my love!" - works of the winners of the photo contest
— # ILOVEKORYOUSHKA - best selfies, best views, best video!
12:00 Salsa workout from Tango Jam Club!
13:00 "Mitki" are burning! Creative chaos.
14:30 "Vivat, cinema of Russia!" at ART&WINE.
15:00 Creative meeting with film artists
A distinctive feature of this holiday will be a large number of fun entertainment and games that will take place throughout the territory, and not just on the main stage. At the festival, you can meet well-known film and historical characters, everyone will be able to sing ditties and folk songs "without leaving the table." For active visitors, a huge number of various prizes and gifts from the organizers and partners of the "Smelt Holiday" have been prepared for an astronomical amount, which is scary even to name.
AND, OF COURSE, DURING THE WHOLE HOLIDAY, Smelt WILL BE FRIED on 50 huge grills, and those who wish to continue the holiday at home will be able to purchase fresh fish.
"Fish Market" will surprise you with delights, freshness and variety, where you can buy not only smelt of any size, but also salmon, trout, catfish, and much more.
PRICE
Entrance ticket 200, - rubles.
Reduced ticket* RUB 100.
Free admission for members of the Creative Union of Cultural Workers (on presentation of a membership card), and for children under 7 years old.
— Pensioners
— Schoolchildren and full-time students
Approximate price for a portion of fried smelt is 180 rubles.
Prices for fresh smelt from 150,- rub./kg.
Drinks from 60,- rubles.
Organizers of the Smelt Festival 2017:
St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Creative Union of Cultural Workers; Center for Perspective Symbolism.
Smelt Holiday will be held May 13-15, 2017 at LENEXPO.
Additional information by phone: 812-275-57-97, on the website - www.kultura.spb.ru
Reference:
Smelt- one of the main commercial fish of the Neva and the Gulf of Finland, the specific cucumber smell of which is typical for the spring of St. Petersburg, when it is sold right on the streets of the city.
Every day in St. Petersburg they catch up to a hundred tons of smelt. When she agrees to be caught, even experienced fishermen do not know. Neither the weather nor other landmarks work. The only thing that is known for certain is that she will appear the day after Easter.
30cm smelt ka is considered a giant among relatives. Usually the fish rarely exceeds 17-20 centimeters. To reach this size, it grows for six years.
Smelt- barometer fish. She refuses to live where the environment is in disarray. Recently, due to polluted water bodies, smelt has been deleted from the list of commercial species almost everywhere in Western Europe. Yes, and we have less of it, in addition, the fish is getting smaller.
The Smelt Festival 2019 exhibition is held from 11 to 12 May in St. Petersburg, Russia.
You can see the exhibited products and sections of the exhibition below, in the "Additional Information" block. The full list of participants of the Smelt Festival 2019 is posted on the official website of the exhibition and is constantly updated. You can also find exhibitors from the previous year there. The business program of the Smelt Festival 2019 is usually published closer to the start of the event.
Your personal calendar
Add the Smelt Festival 2019 exhibition to your calendar so as not to miss an important event. Create your own event schedule.
Are you planning a solo trip to the Smelt Festival 2019?
We recommend during the exhibition period on Booking.com. How to get to the exhibition center VC "Lenexpo" can be found in the catalog of places or on the site's official website. Use also Google Maps, which allows you to build routes using public transport.Do not forget to check the place and dates of the exhibition on the official website and in the calendar of the exhibition complex. The event can be rescheduled, canceled, combined with a similar project. We draw your attention to the fact thatExpomap is not an event organizer and is not responsible for any inaccuracies in the information provided.
The Smelt Festival is the most heartfelt and most St. Petersburg event in the city. In 2018, festivities between laid tables, contests and variety performances will traditionally be held in mid-May.
The end of April and May is the time when the perception of the word "school", which has numerous meanings, shifts towards the meaning of "school of fish", namely smelt. “The expression smelt has gone” for a Petersburger is akin to the same as for fans of the series “Game of Thrones” the release of the next series. Well, almost 🙂 True, this year smelt started a little earlier, appearing on trays and tables already in March.
A small fish has become popular not only due to its taste, which is not something that stands out strongly, but also due to its extremely unusual smell. Where smelt appears, the atmosphere is filled with the aroma of fresh cucumbers. Things have come to the point that many Petersburgers, feeling cucumber amber emanating from the salad, say that they “smell of smelt”. In other words, in St. Petersburg, this fish is almost elevated to a cult.
The smelt festival at Lenexpo will be held this year for the 16th time, which testifies to its popularity. In 2016, for example, 50 thousand guests came in two days, which is two and a half times the Petrovsky stadium, or a little less than the new stadium on Krestovsky Island. In 2017, there was a comparable number.
The success is not surprising. The program includes competitions for fishermen, summing up the results of competitions among photo and video amateurs, performances by musicians, dancers, etc., etc. In fact, the smelt festival turns into a big festival or even a fair, where people and organizations drag their interesting stray, regardless of whether they are related to smelt or not, and entertain people in every possible way. It is interesting even for those who do not eat fish at all.
Well, and most importantly, the core, so to speak, of the holiday is a string of kitchens and tables where you can try freshly cooked smelt. It is not recommended to come hungry. But also very full - too.
Smelt Festival program
Grand opening of the holiday
Meeting of the football team "Tosno"
Solemn sampling from the "General's fish soup"
Start of the fishing competition
Promotion "Stocking"
Concert and game program
Awarding the winners of the photo contest "My Fish"
Meeting of the Film Festival "Vivat, cinema of Russia!"
Promotion "Stocking"
Action "Goldfish in a silver flock"
Concert and game program
During the holiday, the Art-smelt art space will be open.
This program in 2018 includes:
Apartment "At Mitkov"
Exhibition of A. Sikorsky
# ILOVEKORYOUSHKA - best selfies, best views, best videos!
Photo-exhibition "My fish!"
Fine art art party with famous people of the city.
Karaoke zone
Photo zone "Silver Flock"
More information and photos from last year's events in the VKontakte group and on.
Place: exhibition complex LenExpo
Address: Vasilyevsky Island, Bolshoy Prospekt, 103. How to get to Lenexpo is written.
Entry tickets:
- adults - 300 rubles.
- schoolchildren, students and pensioners - 100 rubles.
- preschoolers and all generally accepted preferential categories of citizens - free of charge.
Approximately, the smelt itself for the holiday will cost 180 rubles per serving in fried form, 150 rubles per 1 kg fresh. Drinks - around 60 rubles.
By the way, Putin is also very fond of smelt. Don't believe? Watch exclusive material from his Kremlin residence:
How to choose and fry smelt
Well-known St. Petersburg LiveJournal blogger Periskop in his diary
useful recommendations for the selection and preparation of smelt. You can read the full text at the link above, but we will make a brief summary. So:
2. Smelt should be washed only immediately before being sent to the flour, from where it, in turn, moves to the pan. And not before.
3. Smelt is rolled in flour and fried in oil over medium heat for several minutes until golden brown.
In general, everything is simple. Just delicious.
Ivan Semenov
