One of my earliest memories of childhood, forty years ago, includes eating pancakes and celebrating Maslenitsa.

Mama would cook up high stacks of pancakes that seemed to rise up and disappear into the clouds. Friends and relatives would come over to our house and the table would be laden with all sorts of toppings; melted butter, lemon juice and sugar, honey, fish eggs, herring, jam. My favourite was Nutella!

And then while the adults continued to sit around having serious conversations listening to popular Russian music on the Reel-to-Reel tape player, we would all race outside to play games and run around.

These images re-formed and crystallised before my eyes this year on March 2nd 2013.

A grand ‘Maslenitsa’ event was held at Federation Square, Melbourne. It was unprecedented, in its vision, grandeur and scope, and achieved high acclaim. This event was created and put together by the Russian Ethnic Representative Council of Victoria (RERC) in partnership with Serbian Social Support Services Inc.

A vibrant group of organizers together with nearly 100 volunteers and 300 performers transformed the heart of Australia’s Cultural Capital into a small Russian village emulating the spirit of Russia and its traditions. For the course of the day, the guests were transported to Russia, to help awaken the earth from its winter sleep, and to welcome the spring with songs, dances, games and laughter.

Maslenitsa is a national Russian celebration which combines both its Slavic mythology and its Christian heritage.

Maslenitsa has a practical aspect of eating all the meat, dairy and egg products before the start of the Pre-Paschal fasting period of Great Lent. But it also has a spiritual dimension, to prepare ourselves for the long journey to Easter. In Russia the Festival marks the end of winter and the welcoming of Spring. Whilst the seasonal change in Australia doesn’t quite correspond to the Festival, the vitality of the festival was not lost and can be seen as a celebration of the hot Australian summer instead.

The Festival was organized also with the help of the Ukrainian, Polish, Slovak, Macedonian, Bulgarian communities. This bonding, learning and sharing was an amazing experience and proved to be a momentous occasion with plenty of dancing, noise and fun; plenty of delicious Russian/Slavic foods, street traders and souvenirs.

People said that the Festival was “emulating a feeling of warmth and joy – it was a place where the old and the young where equal in their pursuits of merriment, where there was music, song and dance; enchanting women with long plaits in their hair, the most delicious treats, where one could meet happily with both new and old friends… Russia! How far you are, and how close you can be sometimes”.

Others said that the Festival was truly a significant event in Melbourne, and for the entire Russian-speaking community and Slavic background communities of Victoria.

This event was “a great achievement, worthy of admiration and respect”.

With the multiculturalism of Melbourne, many cultures have been able to come to the forefront, show off the richness of their cultures, and display to the broader community great cooperation and collaboration. Such events unify the whole community and the various multicultural and ethnic organizations involved. RERC worked hard on creating a positive image of the Russian and Slavic communities, and a Festival at Federation square, was the perfect and a very prominent way of showcasing the diversity and beauty of the whole multicultural community in Australia.