Following a plethora of events early in the month, we've entered a period of relative calm in Moscow. But there still are a number of events taking place in the city from which to choose.

As for outdoor entertainment, street basketball is without doubt the hit of the month. Coming next is the Reebok 3x3 tournament in front of the Moscow State University main building (Vorobyovy Gory; Metro: Universitet) on Sept. 16 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. In addition to the matches, which are expected to draw 3,500 players from age 11 and up, the program will include contests, pop performances and a "VIP match" between basketball teams composed of Russian pop stars.

The Bolshoi Theater (Teatralnaya Ploshchad; Metro: Teatralnaya; Tel: 250-7317) will open its 226th season with performances featuring world ballet stars. Showing Sept. 16 and Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. will be La Sylphide with Danish dancer Johan Cobborg performing the part of James.

On Sept. 22-24, the Kremlin (Metro: Alexandrovsky Sad; Tel: 203-0513) will be hosting the annual festival Mir Krasoty (World of Beauty). The festival's program includes Fantasy Nail, the first Eastern Europe championship in the art of manicure and a European championship in hairdressing. The festival will culminate Sept. 24 in a gala show featuring stylists from Italy, France, Austria and Russia and Russian star singers – from operatic tenor Nikolai Baskov to pop singer Laima Vaikule.

Large paintball games at the Paintball Range (11 km down Shchelkovskoye Shosse, near the village Sokolovo, where a special road sign will be placed) begins at 10 a.m. on Sept. 15. The games are poised to set a record in terms of number of participants – 200 teams are expected from throughout Russia. According to the organizers, the range is big enough to accommodate 500 players at a time.

The Second International Festival of Air Navigation, Kaluga – 2001, will be running in the city of Kaluga (take an elektrichka from the Kievsky Railway Station to Kaluga station, or go by bus from a bus stop near the Yugo-Zapadnaya metro station) until Sept. 17. Kaluga is the hometown of the father of Russian cosmonautics, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. The events will include 14 air balloons and other "lighter-than-air" flying objects. The winners will share a prize fund of $3,000.