What's on in Magadan, Russia through the year

Busy — New Year holidays, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Deep winter (1 Dec – 5 Mar (usually)), Sea of Okhotsk frozen (15 Dec – 20 Apr (usually)), New Year holidays (31 Dec – 8 Jan (usually))

Busy — Maslenitsa, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Maslenitsa

  16–22 FebCarnivalCrowded

  Pancake week before Orthodox Lent: blini at cafes and street stalls, and open-air fairs with folk music and games in the main square and city parks. It peaks on the Sunday, when a straw effigy of winter is usually burned. Source ↗

Still on: Deep winter (1 Dec – 5 Mar (usually)), Sea of Okhotsk frozen (15 Dec – 20 Apr (usually))

Busy — Klyovaya Kolyma ice fishing, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Klyovaya Kolyma ice fishing

  1–20 Mar · usuallyIce seasonCrowded

  Magadan's winter fishing festival puts hundreds of anglers on the ice of Nagaev Bay for smelt and navaga, with concerts and stalls in Mayak park. The date is fixed only once the ice is thick enough. Source ↗

Still on: Maslenitsa (16–22 Feb), Deep winter (1 Dec – 5 Mar (usually)), Sea of Okhotsk frozen (15 Dec – 20 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Sea of Okhotsk frozen (15 Dec – 20 Apr (usually))

Busy — Victory Day, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Victory Day

  9 MayNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  9 May is a public holiday marked in every city with a morning parade or wreath-laying in the centre, and usually fireworks after dark. Central streets close for hours and public transport is rerouted; security measures have scaled some events back in recent years. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Closure

  Kolyma highway in the thaw

  1 Jun – 20 Sep · usuallyRisk

  The road inland is rain, mud and dust in summer and only a serious vehicle gets far along it; the frozen months are when it actually works. Plan the Road of Bones for winter or accept a shorter trip. Source ↗

Busy — Magadan City Day, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Magadan City Day

  10–20 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The city's birthday in mid-July brings open-air concerts, exhibitions on its gulag and gold-rush history and fireworks over the bay, at the one time of year the evenings are mild. Source ↗

Still on: Kolyma highway in the thaw (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Kolyma highway in the thaw (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Kolyma highway in the thaw (1 Jun – 20 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Quiet — one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in November.

Busy — New Year holidays, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Deep winter

  1 Dec – 5 Mar · usuallyExtreme cold

  Coastal, so milder than the Kolyma interior behind it, but still months of hard frost with wind coming straight off the frozen sea. The town was built by prisoners in this weather, which is the whole story of the place.

• Festival

  Magadan Crystal ice sculptures

  5–25 Dec · usuallyIce season

  An international ice sculpture contest held every December since 2007, with carvers from Yakutia, Khabarovsk and St Petersburg. The lit sculptures stay up along the centre through the New Year holidays. Source ↗

• Season

  Sea of Okhotsk frozen

  15 Dec – 20 Apr · usuallyIce season

  The bay freezes over for a third of the year and people simply walk out onto it; icebreakers keep a lane open for the port. Standing on sea ice with the town behind you is the local thing to do.

• Holiday

  New Year holidays

  31 Dec – 8 Jan · usuallyNational holidayClosuresBook early

  The longest break of the Russian year: usually the first eight days of January or more are non-working. Offices, banks and many services close, while trains, flights and hotels fill with holidaying families at peak fares. Source ↗