THE AMERICAN WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION OF MOSCOW
Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2019
Welcome to Moscow
and Welcome Back!
Letter from the President Oh, how I have missed my AWO Family, it sure feels good to be back! With summer now behind us and the momentum of our daily routines slowly building up, I am extremely excited and looking forward to the new AWO year ahead. We have a few things in store which we can’t wait to share with you, so stay tuned. Don’t forget to join us for our Kick-Off Meeting on September 4 to renew your membership and sign up for interest groups. On September 20th we will have our evening Welcome Back Social, the first evening event with more to come on a monthly basis. This will be a great event to socialize, have fun and enjoy views of the Circle of Light festival. So invite your friends and spouses to come out and have a great night with us. I do hope that all our members will join us in crossing the bridge into our new AWO year by renewing your membership. Tell your friends about us and invite them to a Coffee Morning to see what we are all about. Welcome Back! Michele
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Save the Date
5
Events of the Month
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Invitation to the AWO Welcome Back Social
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On the Lookout for New Charity Organizations
10 Introducing 2019 - 2020 AWO Board Members
3 September 2019
12 Review: AWO End of Year Picnic Party - June 16, 2019 14 Special Offers for AWO Members 16 Thanks to Our Sponsors and Credits
The AWO Kick-Off Meeting Wednesday, September 4, 2019 11:30am - 1:30pm
the
The AWO Welcome Back Social
Friday, September 20, 2019 from 7:30pm
date
O2 Lounge The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Tverskaya Ulitsa 3.
Our Coffee Mornings take place at:
O2 Lounge The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Tverskaya Ulitsa 3. from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm
mo r ni
s g n
on September 4 and 18 October 2, 16 and 30 November 13 and 27 December 11
4 September 2019
Events of the Month:
Flower Jam Festival - until September 8, 2019 The Flower Jam Festival’s program will run until September 8th. Among the events, there’ll be a Flower Ball and Flower Show, cooking contests, a designer artmarket, a journey to Wonderland with Lewis Carroll’s characters, puppet shows, and jazz concerts. Festival venues are open from 11am to 9pm weekdays, and 10am to 10pm on weekends. For more information: https://moscowseasons.com/en/festival/flower-jam2019
Moscow City Day - September 7 - 8, 2019 Muscovites will celebrate the City Day on September 7th and 8th with more than 1,000 events and activities, including parades, fairs, street entertainments, sports contests and live music concerts. The holiday itself will kick off at noon with an opening ceremony on Red Square. The musical start is scheduled for 1 pm, when Moscow’s anthem will sound at all the venues. Tverskaya street will be the central venue of City Day, with no traffic on two days.
Circle of Light Festival - September 2024, 2019 It’s time to enjoy Moscow under a different light! The «Circle of Light» Moscow international festival will take place for five days where many monumental buildings will be transformed into canvases of lights. The admission to all festival venues is free. Check out the Festival’s website for further information on the schedule of events: www.lightfest.ru/en
5 September 2019
Moscow Marathon - September 22, 2019 The Absolute Moscow Marathon route offers a spectacular tour of Russia’s capital, from the embankment of the Moskva River by Moscow City, to the Garden Ring, across Krymsky Bridge, along the Boulevard Ring and on Tverskaya Street, through Teatralny Passage and under the walls of the Kremlin before finally reaching the finish line at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex. For more information on rules of participation: https://moscowmarathon.runc.run/en/
Exhibition “Shchukin. Biography of a Collection” - until September 15, 2019 The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts presents one of the most prominent collections of European Modernist art, encompassing the most important artistic trends of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This exhibition, extraordinary in its scale and content, will occupy almost the entire museum space. The exhibition includes masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and other masters. For more information about the exhibition or to buy tickets, visit: https://intermarkclub.ru/event/shchukinbiography-of-a-collection/
Exhibition “Collection of Fondation Louis Vuitton: Selected Works” - until September 29, 2019 The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, together with one of the world’s leading collections of contemporary art, Fondation Louis Vuitton presents the exhibition “Collection of Fondation Louis Vuitton: Selected Works”. Viewers will see the iconic works of many famous artists. For more information about the exhibition or to buy tickets, visit: https://intermarkclub.ru/event/collectionof-fondation-louis-vuitton-selected-works/
6 September 2019
7 September 2019
8 September 2019
On the lookout for new charity organizations Welcome Back Ladies! If you are looking to SPREAD SUNSHINE this year, look no further. AWO has a long history of serving in Moscow and this year will be no different. As we continue our support to Nastenka Foundation, we are also looking for input from AWO members on other charitable organizations that could use our support. Where is your heart or passion to serve? Are you already investing in people and could use a little extra help every now and then? Do you have an organization from “home� that could easily be adapted to Moscow? Think outside the box and inside the world of creativity! We are looking for short term needs or one-off projects that we could impact as an organization. Collectively, we are STRONG and we are a voice for change in the world. Please contact Danielle Kuznetsov at kuznetsov.danielle@gmail.com or +7 985 613 61 95 to start the conversation.
9 September 2019
Introducing the AWO 2019 - 2020 Board Members:
Hello! I am Michele Kuhlen and I have the pleasure of serving the AWO Moscow as President. This is my 3rd year in this beautiful city Moscow along with my husband Bernd and two children Justin and Jaden. I enjoy traveling, cooking, meeting new people and helping others. I am extremely grateful for this organization, as it helped me tremendously with my transition to Moscow and introduced me to a fantastic group of women. It has also been a great avenue for me to channel my energy and drive in bringing women of all cultures together and providing them with an organization and atmosphere which feels like home. Looking forward to another wonderful year with you.
Hello ladies! I'm Meg Aw from California. I am your new AWO Treasurer. I arrived in Moscow in October 2018 and joined AWO my first week. AWO was a wonderful organization to help me get acquainted with Russia and meet new friends. I look forward to serving on the Board.
10 September 2019
Hi, I’m Salma Nurmohamed. My family and I have been in Moscow for over two years now and I have the pleasure of serving the AWO Moscow as Secretary for almost a year. We’re from Vancouver, Canada. When I first arrived the members of the AWO were warm and friendly, and made me feel instantly welcome. It made my Hello AWO family! My name is transition to Moscow easier, and I Danielle Kuznetsov . I am your look forward to meeting new new Vice President and FAWCO members and passing on the good Representative. I also coordinate karma! our Spread Sunshine charity activities. For the last 18 years my family has lived between Russia and the States. I met my husband here in 1990 and we married in 1991. We spent the first few years in the States as my husband Alex was learning English being "Americanized" and then we followed an opportunity to live and Hi I’m Eugenie Kim and I’m the work in Russia, in 1998. We chair for Membership with the moved back and forth between the AWO. I’ve lived in Moscow for two countires afterwards. In 2015, nine years now with my husband my husband's job brought us back and two small children. I’m to enjoy all the beauty Moscow originally Russian with an offers. I look forward to getting to international background. know you all and enjoying your company at our coffee mornings I enjoy watching movies and tv and AWO excursions. shows, I love reading. I have a broad interest in both contemporary and classic film and literature. Travelling and learning about different cultures and their history across the world is my passion.
Hello AWO! I'm Irem Sunar and I’m from Izmir, Turkey. I moved to Moscow in 2016 with my husband and son. It was hard for me to give up my job at first, but then I fell in love with this city. Moscow feeds my curiosity and nurtures my creativity more than I could imagine. I was invited to join AWO two years ago and have been preparing the Newsletters since then. The friends I made in the AWO community makes me feel more at home each year. I love juggling multiple activities at one time - writing, sewing, and everything about visual design, in particular.
Hi, I’m Beth Osowski, coordinator for Monday Updates. I joined the AWO Board in February 2019. My husband Chris and I moved to Moscow in July 2018, and before that we lived in Delhi, India. We are originally from the U.S. Midwest.
Hi! I’m Kelley Jackson, coordinator for Special Events and Fundraising. I am originally from New Orleans, LA. I have been in Moscow for almost two years now and loving it. I like to read, cook, travel and play golf (though sometimes the word play is used loosely).
My husband and I have lived in a few places over the years and I have always been a part of the American Women’s Organisations. The ladies have been warm and welcoming and a wealth of knowledge which helped me adjust so much quicker. I like being open to new ideas and experiences and hope you will embrace this city and Hello! I’m Alla Anastos and I’m enjoy it, too. the co-chair for Membership. I am the Chief Dentist at US DentalCare treating expats. I am a Boston University graduate and a mother of two daughters. I’ve been living in Moscow since 2001 and an AWO member since 2011. I look forward to serving on the Board.
11 September 2019
I enjoy living in Moscow and exploring the city, and this summer I ran a 5k, 10k and 21k here!
Hello, I’m Cindy Knight. I moved to Moscow earlier 2019 in April with my nine-year-old daughter and husband. We moved from the United States, St. Louis. However my husband is from Cape Town, South Africa. He took a position with YUM Brands and is in charge of Innovation and Growth within the Russia market for KFC for the next three years. I am happy to join the AWO Board and will be in charge of Social Media and Website. I am a professional photographer and lover of art and culture.
Review: AWO End of Year Picnic Party - June 16, 2019 by Irem Sunar
We held our End of Year Picnic Party at IRC Rosinka Residences on June 16th. It was a bittersweet event, where we enjoyed the fabulous private beach of the residence with friends and family, and had to say goodbye to some of our friends who were leaving Moscow. Thanks to IRC Rosinka and our fellow Board Members, we enjoyed great burgers, corn dogs, and deserts. The music was great, the venue was amazing, and the warm company of friends was priceless! Kids played by the beach and-thanks to two talented animators-they were so engaged in the games that they even forgot to enjoy the wide selection of desserts prepared by our Board members.
12 September 2019
The day started with rain and the heavy clouds gave us a bit of a worry before the picnic time. But just like life, the gray sky finally cleared and everything worked out well in the end. This was a day to remember for all of us. It was hard to say farewell to some of our friends, including three of our Board members and their families. However, I think it was a worthy sendoff for the ones who were leaving and a great start for the summer holidays for all of us. I would like to thank all my fellow Board Members for their contributions in organizing this beautiful event and the AWO family for joining us on June 16th
13 September 2019
Special Offers for AWO Members: PRIVILEGES BY THE RITZ-CARLTON Exclusive dining program at The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow Participating in Privileges by The Ritz-Carlton program provides members with annual access to a wide range of hotel privileges at special prices as well as exclusive gift certificates for complimentary services. Restaurants Experience the new facets of gastronomic art while dining or meeting with friends and business partners at O2 Lounge and The Ritz-Carlton Lounge & Bar. On top of that, you may take advantage of certificates and explore the history of Russia through acquaintance with the ceremony of traditional tea drinking or sabrage bringing you back in time to the XIX century with Russian hussars. The Ritz-Carlton Club Enjoy exclusive access to The Ritz-Carlton Club with complimentary culinary offerings throughout the day and themed dinners inspired by different cuisines from around the world. Additionally, it features a dedicated Concierge Team and a summer terrace with unrivalled views of Red Square and The Kremlin.
14 September 2019
Meetings and banqueting menu Whether it is a gala dinner, wedding ceremony or a small gathering, our team of high-qualified experts is always at your disposal to plan and implement in detail each event. Banqueting menu proposes a rich selection of dishes for the most demanding tastes. In addition to dining offers, Privileges by The Ritz-Carlton includes: • •
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special prices on accommodation, including certificates for complimentary stays; special prices on spa services, including certificates for treatments and access to the swimming pool, relaxation zone and Fitness Studio; special prices on Vera Shubich Beauty Salon services; invitations to member only events; credit for The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow services; special conditions on parking at Tverskaya Street, 3; privileges in hotels participating in the Club Connoisseur program across Eastern Europe.
For more detailed information and available tier options in Privileges by The Ritz-Carlton, please contact us by e-mail rc.mowrz.privileges@ritzcarlton.com or by phone +7 909 646 9090.
The Expat Salon September Special Offer: - Up to 37% discount on Intraceuticals Oxigen facials ( *one of the most effective rejuvenating treatments comparable to a microneedling, but without all the discomfort and side effects. Especially formulated Hylauronic acid alon with Collagen, Retinol and Antioxidants infused into your skin with air flow) - special price 7000 rub (reg 10-11000 rub) - We've reduced price for LPG Endermology! Now 1 session cost 2500 rub (before 3000 rub) and course of 10 sessions cost 20,000 rub
15 September 2019
*Endermologie lipomassage is a treatment that is non-invasive and attacks the cellulite on your body. The sessions themselves last about 45 minutes and you can get the treatment done twice a week. The treatment involves basically getting a massage. The hand-held massage roller is used by rolling the head over the desired areas. While kneading the skin, the massage roller sucks up the skin along with soft tissue. The manipulation of the skin is not only a way to treat cellulite, but also a way to increase blood flow, pull excess water from the body, and increase blood circulation. The fat, along with toxins, are also carried away with the water leaving the body. www.expatsalon.ru www.facebook.com/Expatsalon www.instagram.com/expatsalon
Thanks to our Sponsors:
Photo Credits: Pages 5-6: mos.ru Page 9: Samusocial Moskva, Dom c Mayakom, Nastenka Pages 12-13: Magdalena Ferriro Ghidirim Layout Design: Irem Sunar Editor: Irem Sunar Proofreaders: Michele Kuhlen, Beth Osowski