Just can’t get enough!

Did you participate in the celebration last week? I did! I enjoyed it! It was just as I expected, and even more. You could make an endless list of all the amazing things and events there were in the city. I saw dozens of dance performances, a great hanseatic market, a parade full of celebration, medieval wedding and a lot more. A perfect summer weekend where you could feel where culture, art and different cultures sharing joy with each other can lead you to. Unforgettable!

the Europeade parade

Well. Europeade fascination can take you to making plans for a trip to Italy next summer already, as the city of Padova hosts the festival next year. But that’s way too far away! One needs to festival! And Tartu continues to festival.

It's a sircus out there!

When it turns to August there are again great events to wait for. Between the 8^th – 13^th of August the city will be filled with love, love, love as Tartuff, the love film festival makes movie lovers gather to Tartu and turns the town hall square into a big cinema hall.

The Emajõgi River, an essential part of Tartu, also has its own festival, and this one will be on 19^th-20^th of August. Of course this festive city celebrates its river also! In case you feel like checking the upcoming festivals and events in Tartu, you can do it here. I’m counting the days to the next one!

Everybody let's dance!

Can You Festival?

I know each and every one of us has their wardrobes full of medieval clothes that just wait to be worn. Well, the time of the year has come! Next week, beginning from 20^th July, Tartu will be filled with folk music and medieval fair, as the folk music festival Europeade and the 16^th Tartu Hanseatic Days will fill the town with culture, music, dance and experiences that I myself expect to be great! To me this city seems to be a perfect surrounding for such events.

Latvian dancers in Europeade opening

Again I would recommend you to activity: go to workshops while you can, dance and sing where you can, taste what you can! Don’t stay as a by passer, go get your share of all the fun that has been prepared! Keep the dress code in mind but don’t let anything slow your joy down! Besides, in my experience the Estonians get very easily carried away with dancing and singing, so just follow their great example!

Medieval atmosphere

It’s delightfully audience-friendly also price-wise. The rumour has it that for example the Europeade concerts are very affordable, the full ticket price being 3€ but actually going down to 1€ if you are wearing that medieval costume! Go get thatt from your closet now, see you next week!

There's dance everywhere!

Let's Play!

Now that we have reached already July, I feel like introducing something summerish. How about some summer theatre?  Seeing a play in a park, in a forest –well, outside in a fresh air anyway- is even a tradition to many, and I think it might be easier for also to not-so-heavy-users-of-culture to attend a summer theatre than to step in to a museum or a gallery for example.

waiting for a play to begin...

 I just went to see a Moliére play by theatre Vanemuine. The Imaginary Invalid suited well also in Estonian frames and was an enjoyable experience in many ways. The play took place in the park of the song festival museum in a very beautiful and natural surrounding –which allowed also surprises, like a cat fight under the auditorium in the middle of the play, to happen.  At some point there were so many unexpected things happening in addition to the story itself that no one from the audience or the crew on the stage could stop laughing. Luckily laughter suites well in to a comedy!

the set

In addition to Vanemuine summer theatre you could choose also for example Emajõe Suveteater in Tartu. I myself am already eagerly waiting for them to play Dracula in the ruins of the old minster in Toomemäe park. The place is perfect for a story as creepy as that! Dracula you get to see in August.

Just remember that the nature is also prepared to participate the play –have an umbrella or a jacket with you, or just enjoy the refreshment served by the experience with all of your senses!