The celebration brought together children from boarding schools and orphanages. The children participated in traditional Maslenitsa pastimes: sledding, doing circle dances, singing and dancing together.
Next, Svetlana Medvedeva invited the children on a tour: the young guests visited the interior of the Tsar’s chambers, viewed antique household items, and heard about the history of Kolomenskoye, the former royal estate in the 16th and 17th centuries. Performers staged a concert for the children based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem The Tale of Tsar Saltan. The children also received traditional treats: Russian pancakes with honey, jam, and hot tea from samovars.
To conclude the celebration, each of the invited children received a gift set containing books, toys, MP3 players and sweets. In addition, the orphanages and boarding schools received book collections for their libraries, a selection of classical Russian films, and boxes of sweets to eat with tea.