On Saturday, August 24, when the Koktebel Jazz Party international jazz festival is in full swing, its guests, Crimean volunteers and local residents will take part in a race, during which they will pick up litter around the most popular tourist places in Koktebel. The environment related event is designed to raise awareness of environmental issues. It is being held as part of the Koktebel Jazz Party for the third year, but for the first time as a "plogging" event, a recent popular trend.
Plogging is a new movement that combines jogging with picking up litter. The term is a combination of the Swedish word plocka (pick, gather) and jogging. Plogging started in Sweden in 2016 as an organized activity and quickly spread to other countries, mostly via social networks. Plogging is becoming more popular because it unites physical activity and concern for nature. By adding the constant bending for litter collection to the running, plogging provides variation in regular jogging sessions.
The 17th Koktebel Jazz Party international festival will take place in Crimea on August 23-25. The audience will see about two dozen bands from the US, Japan, Singapore, France, Germany and other countries. Russia will be represented by Snake Steak, one of the best Moscow jazz funk bands, violin improviser and arranger Felix Lahuti and his band UNIVERSALOVE, and the K.I.M.M. quartet featuring outstanding Soviet and Russian jazz guitarist Alexei Kuznetsov, among others. Rock singer, musician Yulia Chicherina will be a headliner at the festival.
Koktebel Jazz Party is held with information support from the Rossiya Segodnya International Media Group and the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK Holding). Radio Jazz is the musical partner of the festival. The regional partner is the Sobaka Krym Publishing House.
The Koktebel Jazz Party was founded in 2003 as a private initiative by Koktebel jazz pioneer, journalist Dmitry Kiselev. The small Crimean town lent its name to the event which is now on the list of highly acclaimed world jazz festivals. The organizers traditionally keep the celebrity performers' names secret. Over the years, the festival program has included performances by iconic jazz drummer Jimmy Cobb (the US), Grammy Award winner for Best Latin Jazz Album Gonzalo Rubalcaba (Cuba), Nu Jazz stars Club Des Belugas (Germany) and the extraordinary saxophonist Robert Anchipolovsky (Israel). Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the festival guests in 2017.
The Koktebel Jazz Party is not just world-class jazz, it is true freedom that creates a united vibration of music, the sea, body and soul. The organizer of the festival is the Red Square Group. Since 2014, the Ministry of Culture has provided support to the Koktebel Jazz Party.