or, “How Kirstin didn’t get to see Mirbek Atabekov in concert.” Maybe this is karma for publicly admitting that I wasn’t the biggest fan of his most recent music video? Maybe in my current state (pregnant, if you forgot), I’m suddenly incapable of performing simple tasks like buying concert tickets? Maybe there is something in …
Tag Archives: events in Bishkek
Kyrgyz Music Friday
Kyrgyz Music Friday is a weekly feature in which I post a pop music video from an artist in Kyrgyzstan. It could be catchy, annoying, funny, insightful, brilliant, awful, or anything in between. It’s what’s playing on the radio, what all the cool kids are listening to these days. Kyrgyz Music Friday is not trying …
Bishkek Fashion Week
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. Yes, even Kyrgyzstan has a Fashion Week. In fact, more than 150 Fashion Weeks a year are organized all around the world. Still, having never attended any sort of fashion show myself, I was curious to see what sort of fashion I’d get to see here …
Happy 5th New Year of the year
On March 21, Kyrgyzstan celebrated Nouruz (Navruz, Nooruz, Nowruz, etc). It was explained to me by several people that it’s a Muslim holiday to celebrate Spring. Wikipedia tells me that it is, in fact, Iranian New Year, with traditions dating back to Zoroastrianism. (Which, of course, we all know is a religion that pre-dated Islam. …
Bishkek Rock Festival
It’s necessary to set the scene with this music, a clip from the movie “From Dusk til Dawn.” The details of my night are a bit different from the movie. I walked into the Russian Drama Theater with my husband and members of his band. We’re late, having not known this event existed until it …
Diversity Festival
On December 16, a friend and I went “on assignment” to an annual festival that celebrates the diverse group of ethnicities that call Kyrgyzstan home. It was hosted in the Kyrgyz Drama Theater and included an open house of foods, crafts and souvenirs from each group, as well as a performance of songs and dances.
Kyrgyzstan vs Uzbekistan
Wooo! Football! (Oh. I’m not actually a fan of sports. Nevermind.) A friend invited me and Farrell to a World Cup qualifying game between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek national teams. I considered that there was at least a moderate potential for rioting, so I grabbed my camera and went along. The attitude of the group …
on chasing a headless goat
On Nooruz (March 21), I had the opportunity to tag along with a group of friends to the Bishkek Hippodrome to watch a game of kokboru. (Quick playing instructions: two teams try to snatch a dead goat from the ground and transport it on horseback to their respective goal.) It was a complete assault on …
Combat paintball
In case you’ve ever considered making the arduous move out to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, but hesitated because you didn’t want your paintballing skills to fall out of practice, then fear no longer. There is a paintball club in Bishkek. It makes sense, right? Bishkek can be dangerous and citizens should be able to hone their skills …
April 7th in Bishkek
Classes were not cancelled, it was not a public holiday, but the square was decorated and a moment of silence was held (though I’m not sure when because the scheduled time was shifted a bit). Yurts were built to represent each of the oblasts in Kyrgyzstan. Foreigners were advised to stay inside, especially after 4pm.