The St Petersburg International Film Forum (Kino Forum) kicks off

Filmmakers from around the world will gather at the banks of the Neva River for the second St Petersburg International Film Festival to be held from 10 to 15 July under the sparkling white nights of St Petersburg. The Film Forum format involves open discussion and dialogue between filmmakers and audiences from different cultures and generations.

Sand Sculpture Festival 2011. Head to the beach at the Peter and Paul Fortress on July 12 for the opening of the tenth anniversary of Sand Sculpture Festival 2011. The theme this summer is “Masterpieces of world culture”.

Come and see imagination, skills and craftsmanship carved out of a brittle material based on the works of world masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, painting, literature, music, cinema, etc. The most vibrant works of famous names and images will be made with sand.

The Youth Day festival is being organized by yatalant.ru jointly with the Committee on Youth Policy of St Petersburg. It will will take place on June 27, and will be held in a new format "open air" on the beach of Peter and Paul Fortress. The groups "Marseille" and "Boombox" are scheduled to be the headliners of the festival.

Owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in the city of Saint Petersburg and bikers from Russia and abroad are hosting a grand motorcycle festival in the northern capital of Russia. The festival is supported by the Government of St Petersburg and personally by Governor Valentina Matvienko.

A motoparad will be held today, June 25.

The 9th St Petersburg Tattoo Festival kicked off today, June 17, and will last till June 19, 2011. The event is dedicated to the art of tattooing, body modification, and body art. Visitors to the Festival will be able to observe the process and result of people’s creative skills dedicated to the most intimate form of figurative art. By tradition, Tattoo Festival is held in the heart of St. Petersburg so that guests from other cities and countries could fully enjoy the amazing beauty of the city. More than 60 tattoo studios and masters will present their achievements in the tattoo industry, and the best of the best will compete for prizes in 15 categories. The purpose of the event is to promote tattooing as one of the oldest kinds of art. The Festival organizer “Extreme Art” center invites all interested organizations and the media for a mutually beneficial and exciting cooperation. Tickets can be bought only at the Festival. 1-day ticket costs 500 rubles, while 3-day ticket costs 1200 rubles. The Festival takes place at the central concert hall “Avrora” located at 5/2 Pirogovskaya Naberezhnaya, Ploschad Lenina metro station.

Welcome to the St Petersburg’s 19th International Film Festival “Festival of Festivals” June 23-29, 2011.

The Russian Ministry of Culture, St. Petersburg City Administration, the Committee of Culture, “Lenfilm” Studios, and the International Film Festivals Organization are pleased to announce the XIX Annual “Festival of Festivals 2011” to be held in the historic centre of St. Petersburg, during the magical White Nights, between JUNE 23-29, 2011. The “Festival of Festivals” is Russia’s largest non-competitive festival of recent outstanding works of International and Russian cinema.

Live Nation is pleased to announce that Sting will perform in St Petersburg this summer as a part of his critically-acclaimed Symphonicity world tour. Following sold-out performances across North America, Europe and Australia, Symphonicity finds Sting performing his greatest hits re-imagined for symphonic arrangement, accompanied by a symphony orchestra and band, conducted by Sarah Hicks. On June 16, 2011, the Symphonicity tour will appear at the opening of the XV St Petersburg International Economic Forum at the Palace Square in St. Petersburg, Russia. This concert is a non-ticketed event and is free to the public.

www.sting.com/news/news.php?uid=6875

May 27 will be  marked as the city’s 308th “birthday”. Founded in 1703 by Tzar Peter the Great, St Petersburg still remains one of Russia’s best preserved historical cities. Several stages will be set up along Nevsky Prospekt with the main ones on Palace Square and near the Rostral Columns on the other side of the Palace Bridge. Beautiful fireworks will color the night sky and finish off the city celebration.

Night of Museums in St Petersburg is going on the 21st through the 22nd of May, 2011. This annual event is also held in 42 other European countries, that is more than 2000 museums working throughout the night. Over 50 000 of people attend this event each year in St Petersburg.

May 1st was the kick off day for the fountain season in Peterhof, although the official opening will take place May 21.  The ticket cost is more likely to remain unchanged in comparison to the previous season but the business hours may vary  (10 am – 6 pm Monday through Friday; 10 am – 7 pm Saturday and Sunday)