The summer has come to the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan and with it new colours have taken over the cultural life of the city. Parks, recreation areas, performances by musicians and actors and much more. Leisure activities have taken on new forms due to the risks of the pandemic. Many events are now being held in the open air. The Astana Opera theater is among the first who decided to open the boundaries for art by doing so. Open-air performances by the country’s leading opera theatre will be held until July 6. A total of 10 events are planned. The first concerts entitled ‘Eight Seasons’ have already taken place.
There are also great things to do for book lovers. Since the beginning of summer, the writers’ alley has turned into a pure joy for them. An open-air library was opened there. Thus, every resident of Nur-Sultan can not only borrow a couple of books home, but read them on the bench while enjoying the fresh air. To date, there are 18 such street libraries in the city, and they are popular among people.
“We organized this event specifically for young people in order to instill a love for reading in them. So that they could come there, read more, explore the world and learn something new for themselves,” said Roza Salmetova, librarian.
And in the city’s parks, people now can’t simply walk around, but also watch their favorite movies. The idea initiators mark the success of their project, because this kind of recreation is very popular among young people. As a result, movie tickets are sold out a week in advance. For the time being, there are two filmshows a day. The viewers themselves decide which movie is going to be screened via social media voting.
“We want to increase the number of seats and make the screen bigger so that people can feel more comfortable and everyone can see everything well. We also give everyone a blanket and a mosquito spray,” said Nurassyl Yerzhanov, director of movie theater.
Thus, every resident of Nur-Sultan can choose leisure activities to their liking, and the weather favours it as warm days are expected throughout the next week. This means that everyone is given the opportunity to join the cultural activities, and the pandemic is not an obstacle to that.
Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova
Editing by Saule Mukhamejanova
