Ура! On Saturday November 6th 6:30-8:00 pm (Sunday November 7th 11:30-1:00 pm in Khabarovsk) the Portland Khabarovsk Sister City Association held its annual Bridge to Russia celebration. For the second year in a row Bridge to Russia was held virtually. The event was a combination of live and prerecorded presentations and performances (professionally produced by Open Signal Productions). People on both sides of the Pacific joined the event. All presenters and performers had a sister city connection but invited participants included anyone interested in sharing Russian culture and participating in this goodwill event.
Portland jazz/blues recording artists Darrell Grant and Marilyn Keller (who performed in Khabarovsk as part of PKSCA’s Jazz Bridge Project) and Oregon blue grass ensemble Jasper Diem (featuring Steve Eggers, who performed with Scratchdog String Band in a PKSCA Russian Far East concert tour) headlined the event. Performances by the award-winning Khabarovsk youth singing ensemble “Pearl”, Khabarovsk regional folk singing and dancing ensemble “Elan”, Portland traditional folk duet Rene Berblinger and Olivia Duffy, and Khabarovsk’s “Speak! English” band made the 2021 Bridge to Russia a most memorable event. Presentations about the PSU Russian Capstone Project and greetings from both Portland and Khabarovsk city leaders rounded out the event.
As PKSCA moves forward we will no doubt leverage streaming technology to make PKSCA more accessible to Russian speakers and Russian people not only for big events but also for our monthly meetings and programs. Watch for notifications by email and on social media like Facebook and Twitter.
