M O S C O W - Passport magazine

Out & About
IWC Winter Bazaar Breaks All Records
Text and photos
John Harrison
On the 27th of November, the IWC
held its 27th Winter bazaar at the Radisson
Slavyanskaya. Actually the hotel
was taken over by the IWC for the day.
Expecting the event to occupy the usual
one large hall, I was staggered to find
that this year’s bazaar stretched over no
less than two vast halls and three large
rooms where the food was laid out.
This wasn’t a jumble sale, with cups of
tea served in plastic cups held on a rainy
Sunday afternoon. Here one could sample
and buy delicious food from literally all
over the world, made by real people from
each country, who are temporary resident
2 January 2011
in Moscow. Here, for humble fees, you
could sample and buy Hungarian “pogacsa”
(scones) and apple pie, handmade by
Hungarian ladies in true traditional style;
traditional Italian LaLasagna (Bolognese,
al Pesto and vegetarian), “Pasta al forno”,
Christmas desserts and cookies, and Tiramisu.
Here you could scoff real Canadian
maple syrup, Columbian Tamal with hot
chocolate, stuffed potato, coffee and natural
juices and other interesting small dishes,
and about ten thousand other dishes.
The two halls selling items offered an
awe-inspiring display of goods, people
and languages. For example, in one corner
of the hall there were leather goods from
Madagascar, Montenegro wines, Columbi-
an coffee, Estonian umbrellas and so on. All
served with a smile and a contagious inner
warmth which I sometimes feel when I am
in the presence of people who are doing
something truly good. I bought most of
my Christmas presents in one morning, at
a price which I could handle, Buying presents
for the family in Moscow is something
I never look forward to.
The facts and figures speak for themselves:
3158 guests, up from 2748 in 2009. Proceeds
increased substantially over last year.
The event was organised by only 6
people, and some 60 volunteers who
were mainly IWC members, their friends
and families.