This is going to be the 13th time around, when on May 9th, the gay men of Moscow will use get away to make the shashlyk (BBQing out in the nature, for those of you, who are not familiar with the language), which became a tradition. Gay shashlyk is a really community tradition. There are neither leaders, nor stars. Each year, different mix of people participate in event’s preparation.
"We are not doing "the parade", or actions which call to attract attention, or show-off the protest. A general manager of one of the lodging grounds (pansionat) asked a question: "What is the agenda of your movement?", and he received an answer: "Our agenda is to use a drink and a bite to eat". This was the answer of the Event’s Committee. Carrying forward, they say, a format for the get-away (shaslychki, as a diminishing expression for the event) is rather simple. We are not busy with performance or shows, but, we also don’t have outsiders here, a writer, Vladimir Belov says, community tradition ends where community is split in performers and audience.
For the 2nd year, The Gay Shashlyk Initiative is organized within The Open World Project (Ïðîåêò Îòêðûòûé Ìèð, automatic translation here), which is known for their party events in Podmoskovie (a Russian expression for geography and its places for get-aways). Information about place and time, and other details, you can request by sending an email to 9may@bk.ru.