While in Tulsa, the delegation received honorable citizens certificates, visited the Oklahoma Aquarium, historic downtown, and the Gilcrease Museum. The girls shadowed their host sisters at Booker T. Washington, while Kryukovo’s director visited Tulsa’s social work facilities from Youth Services of Tulsa to Street School.

Providing cultural and educational opportunities to socially and economically disadvantaged children in Zelenograd (and Russia at large) is one of the key priorities of the Tulsa Zelenograd Association. In the past two years, TZA successfully developed relations with Zelenograd’s orphanages – an effort that culminated in organizing the first such trip for children who might otherwise never have a chance to travel to the U.S. or elsewhere in the world. TZA will continue to carry out projects in support of the orphaned, homeless, and at-risk Russian children.

“Kyukovo” is one of three Zelenograd facilities that care for children who do not live with their parents. It shelters children whose parents have been temporarily stripped of custody due to substance abuse, domestic violence, and other causes. The shelter’s goals are to safely reintroduce children back into their families and to provide a peer support network for children in need. Under the auspices of Moscow region, the shelter receives fewer funds from Zelenograd and the capital.

As always, the Russia booth, representing our sister city partnership with Zelenograd, was there, boasting a whole new puppet stage and repertoire, a jumbo-size Russian landscape, and a drawing contest “My Summer Vacation in Russia.” Other features included:

• Kids could take photos with standup cutout figures of a Russian man and a Russian woman dressed in traditional costumes.
• Souvenirs to play with (includes Russian toys and nesting dolls)
• Alphabet cards, coloring and flag-making activities, and Russia timeline quizzes. We challenged every little visitor to impress their parents and siblings by learning to write the names of the whole family in Russian!
• Information about Russia’s rich nature and “green” efforts
• Russia-Oklahoma time line, showing how closely the two are knit together.

We have received many comments that the Russia booth was the best and most interactive exhibit at the festival! And this year, we hosted a 3-person delegation from a Zelenograd orphanage. They worked at the booth and performed on stage with songs and dance about Zelenograd.

Covering a big part of Earth, Russia is one of the most interesting and beautiful countries on earth.

SO HOW DO YOU IMAGINE A RUSSIAN SUMMER?

DRAW IT!

WINNERS WILL RECEIVE COOL RUSSIAN PRIZES! TWO 1ST PLACE WINNERS WILL TAKE HOME GRAND PRIZES!

RULES:

1. All of your family, friends, and classmates can see your drawing at the Russian booth at
2. Kids World 2008, November 13-16, at the Tulsa Fairgrounds, 4145 E. 21st Street.
3. Use a regular-size sheet of paper and any materials – like crayons, pencils, or watercolor – to draw.
4. Put your name, age, and school name in the right lower corner of the drawing.
5. Make sure to include the green color when you are drawing.
6. Need help with ideas? How about including:
   • Spruces, pines, birches, and aspens – those grow everywhere in Russia!
   • A bear, a wolf, a fox, a hare, and a mouse are some common Russian animals. In the city, Russians love to have cats and dogs as pets.
   • Flowers (such as daisies, dandelions, and clover) and mushrooms; Rivers and ponds;
   • Onion-dome churches.

Give the drawing to your art teacher or ask your parents to send it to: Tulsa Global Alliance, 800 S. Tucker Dr., Tulsa, OK 74104 before November 10.

Let us know if you are interesting in volunteering at the Russia booth at Kids’ World.

contest pdf download for printing

Photo credit

The Russian Booth, sponsored by the Tulsa Zelenograd Association, at Kids’ World in Tulsa Oklahoma 2008 will feature:

• Puppet show playing a variety of popular Russian fairy tales. Regular showings
• Colorful displays
• Souvenirs you can touch and play with (includes Russian toys and nesting dolls)
• Alphabet cards, coloring and learning activities, and Russia timeline quizzes
• Russia passport stamps
• Fun Russian games
• Photo opportunities in a Russian setting
• Information about Russia’s rich nature and “green” efforts
• Sales kiosk with souvenirs
• Cool giveaways as participation prizes

Kid’s Word runs from Thursday November 13th until Sunday November 16th 2008.

For time and location information see the official Kid’s World website.  Let us know if you are interesting in volunteering at the Russia booth at Kids’ World.

Matryoshka doll photo credit

It’s time to get involved in the KIDS World, a festival for kids ages 4-15 which is sponsored by TGA and sister cities every two years.

WHEN: November 13-16, 2008
WHERE: Fairgrounds Main Pavilion (21st Street between Harvard and Yale)

Here is how you can help by representing our sister city Zelenograd:

• Volunteer for the TZA booth -  You’ll be welcoming kids at our booth, stamping kids’ passports, writing kids’ names in Russian (if you are a native speaker or know Russian), selling Russian souvenirs to raise funds for TZA and the orphanage in Zelenograd, answering their questions about Russia and so on.  Each shift is 3 hours long. Sign up for 3 or more shifts and receive a FREE Kids World 2008 T-shirt!
• Be part of a puppet show w/ Rosie Brown, Olga and David Randolph.  Puppet shows for kids will be performed throughout the event - you can sign up for any date and time.
• Take on part of the preparations. We will be happy to get your ideas/help in planning the booth! Contact Olga Randolph at orandolph (AT) tulsazelenograd (DOT) org today!

As you come to volunteer, you can also enjoy the celebration, see what other sister cities and other groups had prepared for the event, and try foods from different parts of the world. To learn more about the event, please go to www.kidsworldtulsa.org.

If you can help, please
1. Fill out this Kid’s World volunteer form (pdf).
2. Send the form back to or simply RSVP to (tell us what time works for you):  1) Olga Randolph (TZA Secretary/Treasurer) at orandolph (AT) tulsazelenograd (DOT) org  2) Irina Krivtsova, (TZA President) at ikrivtsova (AT) tulsazelenograd (DOT) org.

Please reply before October 5.

Feel free to contact us with questions!

Video about Kid’s World:

Grigori Chukrai’s film classic, Ballad of a Soldier, has been selected for the June cine-club in observance of the events of June 22, 1941.

Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimiri Skvortsov) has just been granted six days leave as a reward for having destroyed two German tanks. He is anxious to return home to see his mother and repair her leaking roof. As he makes his way across the countryside we see the destruction and suffering that has been visited on his homeland, but we are also shown glimpses into the better part of human nature as Alyosha sacrifices precious time to do errands and favors for his fellow soldiers and performs numerous selfless acts. Hitching a ride on a baggage car, he meets and falls in love with Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko), pretty young refugee. Indeed, the film is in no small part, a love story – romantic love with Shura, the bonds of devotion between mother and son, the love between a mature married couple, and the broader general affection and good will Alyosha has for his fellow man.

The story becomes all the more poignant when we learn Alyosha’s fate at the end of the film.

Irina will have a report to TGA Board on April 7, 5.30-6.30p.m. at Harwelden.  Also the Tulsa Zelenograd Association is planning a meeting at the end of April.  Irina and maybe other recent visitors to Zelenograd will have a presentation with slides and other items.
Please watch out for the future announcement!

For now, enjoy the pictures from Irina’s visit.

Banquet for Zelenograd’s 50th Anniversary:

A dance performance for Zelenograd’s 50th anniversary:

Zelenograd, Russia: House of Culture: Decorated for the Anniversary:

Moscow’s Mayor and Zelenograd’s Prefect at Zelenograd’s 50th Anniversary

Nemeryuk (business development, foreign relations) & Marina Tishineva Head, Department of Social Services

Tulsa visitors to Zelenograd: Boyds meet with City Officials

Orphanage “Kryukovo” Director Irina Parvan:

Poster proclaiming Zelenograd’s 50 Birthday as a Moscow Okrug:

In an effort to strengthen partnership ties between Tulsa and its Russian Sister City - Zelenograd, Tulsa Global Alliance member Monty Johnson spent two weeks in Zelenograd in mid-April meeting with city officials, public schools, colleges/institutes and a variety of other personal contacts. It was Johnson’s seventh visit to Zelenograd, which was established as an administrative district of Moscow in 1958 to serve as the focal point of Russia’s microelectronics industry.

During his stay in Zelenograd, Johnson met with Zelenograd’s Deputy Prefect (Deputy Mayor) Alexey Nemeruk, who has administrative responsibility for business development, recreational activities and promotional efforts for the thriving Moscow suburb. Nemuruk has agreed to serve as the primary Tulsa-Zelenograd city government contact to replace Tatiana Zabelina, who signed the original Tulsa-Zelenograd Sister City agreement but has recently retired from public service to accept a position as President of a prestigious educational institute in Moscow. Nemeruk hopes to visit Tulsa this summer to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Tulsa-Zelenograd partnership which began in July 1992. Another noteworthy initiative in Zelenograd is establishment of a “Free Trade” area which is being promoted to offer generous incentives to attract new businesses – particularly those focused on advanced technologies – to the city.

In Zelenograd, Johnson spent considerable time at School No. 1150, meeting with students in grades 1-11 and participating in an “English Conference” which emphasized the history of Moscow, Zelenograd and Tulsa. School 1150 has long been a welcoming “friend” for Tulsans, and has hosted a variety of public officials, teachers, students (including those from Wilson Middle School and Booker T. Washington High School) and other visitors from Oklahoma. Johnson was also a “guest lecturer/professor” at both the Moscow Institute of Economics, Policy and Law, and at the Institute of International Business Education (IBE) in Zelenograd, which maintains a partnership with the University of Tulsa. In addition, he attended Easter Sunday services at the Russian Baptist Church in Zelenograd, which has a long partnership relationship with Tulsa’s Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church.

The following are some of the pictures from Monty’s most recent journey to Russia.

Monty Johnson meeting with the Zelenograd Deputy Prefect Alexey Nemeruk

Zelenograd English teacher Anna Pankova:

Dedicated Civil Servants Alexey Nimeruk and Marina Tisheneva:

Streets, apartments, and public transportation in Zelenograd, Russia:

Third graders in Zelenograd Russia show of their cell phones:

9th Graders at School 1150 in Zelenograd, Russia:

Thanks to everyone who assisted and attended.

Thanks again to our sponsors who made donations to the event:
ConocoPhillips
FireCo (owned by Cap Baxter)
Tulsa Global Alliance
Cross Cultural Communications (owned by Yana Hestand)
United Nations Association of Northeast Oklahoma
Euro-Mart (owned by Gary Copper)
Atlas Lingua

Additionally, people or companies who donated items or door prizes included:
Mark and Becky Collins
Stone Bluff Cellars
Aveda Cosmetics
Clinique at Dillard’s Woodland Hills
Lucky Nails in Tulsa

Thanks to our volunteers:
Matt (event chairman) and Yana Hestand
David and Olga Randolph
Kerry and Gail Randolph
Monty Johnson
Stan and Barbara Conrad
Bob Lieser
Pam Terekhova
Zina Morrison
and others….

Special thank you note from Matt Hestad:

As Chairman of the International Women’s Day festival I wanted to express my deepest appreciation for all the help from our event volunteers. Zina Morrison lead the kitchen crew, that involved Stan and Barbara Conrad along with Kerry and Gail Randolph, and they did an outstanding job. I have received a tremendous amount of feedback already from various attendees and it has all been super positive. Once again we have exceed expectations and pulled off an amazing event.