In April 2026, Scarlet Sails Cultural Foundation traveled to Bellevue, Washington to participate in the second annual Bellevue International Theatre Festival (BITFest), produced by Theatre33 at the Meydenbauer Center Theater.

BITFest is a vibrant, multilingual celebration of community theatre that brings together companies from across the Pacific Northwest and the United States. The 2026 festival drew 1,463 attendees and featured seven productions performed in English, Russian, and Mandarin Chinese.

Scarlet Sails presented A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur by Tennessee Williams — performed in Russian with English subtitles — on Sunday, April 5, the final day of the festival.

A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur is a tender, bittersweet play set in 1930s St. Louis. Four women sharing a boarding house navigate love, illusion, and the quiet ache of life's disappointments. Williams' lyrical language and his deep empathy for characters on the margins gave our ensemble rich material to inhabit.

At the closing awards ceremony, Scarlet Sails received three honors:
• Outstanding Direction — Olga Sotiriadi
• Outstanding Actress — Anna Shapkina
• Outstanding Lighting Design — Scarlet Sails Cultural Foundation

"Nerves laid bare. Emotions at a fever pitch. Vulnerability, tenderness, and a fragile, almost naïve hope for happiness and love."
— Audience response to A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur