WeHo Celebrates Its Russian-Speaking Residents This Month

West Hollywood will celebrate its Russian-speaking community with events planned throughout this month reflecting that community’s heritage and culture. Highlights are:

• The 69th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day will honor community members, including veterans of the Soviet military of World War II, who have contributed socially, culturally and civically to the City of West Hollywood. Victory in Europe Day, generally known as V-E Day or VE Day, was the public holiday celebrated on May 8, 1945 to mark the Allied Forces’ formal acceptance of Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender, which marked the end of World War II in Europe. Since the Soviet Union is geographically located east of Europe, the German military surrender became effective on May 9, 1945 Moscow-time — this is why Russia and most of the former Soviet republics commemorate Victory Day on May 9, rather than on May 8. The Victory in Europe Day event will take place on May 10 at 11 a.m. at Plummer Park’s Fiesta Hall,  7377 Santa Monica Blvd. Admission is free.

• The 9th Annual Russian Community Awards will take place on May 14 from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Auto Court of the West Hollywood Library, located at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd. The city’s Russian Advisory Board has established three awards to recognize individuals, businesses and organizations that have had a positive impact and bettered the lives of members of the Russian-speaking community in West Hollywood and the Los Angeles region. The awards will be presented at an official ceremony and the event will feature a sampling of fine Russian foods, a photography and art exhibition and live entertainment.

• The Russian Style Festival is a day of family-friendly events celebrating the rich culture and heritage of the more than 500,000 members of the Los Angeles region’s Russian-speaking community. The Festival will take place on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Plummer Park. The Festival is free to the public and will include a day of entertainment, music, food vendors, Russian crafts and jewelry and numerous local exhibitors. Concurrently, as part of Art Ark, LarkGallery Online presents the original sculptures of Peter Shpayer, a Russian artist from St. Petersburg. This exhibition will take place on May 18 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at a pop-up art gallery on the second floor of 7362 Santa Monica Blvd. near Martel.

West Hollywood is home to a large community of people from countries of the former Soviet Union. According to a 2013 survey, there are 3,872 people who live in WeHo who identify a former country of the Soviet Union as their primary ancestry. This represents approximately 11 percent of the city’s total population of 34,399 people.