On our
previous visit to Latvia during the National Song and Dance Festival we dared
to attend the grand dance performance and the final concert with Lauris and
Mikus. Both were extraordinary experiences that I will forever associate with
the land of my forefathers, my heritage, my identity. However, the boys were
not old enough to remember the historic events, other than a few vague
impressions and what they remember from pictures and video. I am not brave
enough to repeat the experience this summer with three boys, and so we have
been content to explore the various peripheral fêtes occurring around the city, including the Burtiski burvīgs burziņš Vērmanes dārzā, a giant crafts and design
fair.
Not
your run of the mill craft fair, the burziņš
is a showcase of the rich cultural legacy of Latvian artisans. The Latvians
book publishers and music companies were represented, however the majority of
vendors featured handmade goods: carved wooden spoons, woven clothes, linen
tablecloths, amber jewelry, traditional (and more modern) pottery, leather
billfolds, glassware and more. Mixed in with the expensive, one-of-a-kind
quality items are more affordable souvenirs, such as the Upe music box that plays Rīga
dimd, or the linen bags from Alūksne that the boys picked out for
themselves. We also chose an amazing wooden calendar to help the children learn
the seasons, months and days; the bonus is the prominent display of the Latvian
traditional seasons such as Ūsiņi, Jumji and Mārtiņi. Coasters seemingly made of woven tautiskas jostas, ceramic magnets and leather keychains featuring
the traditional symbols, paper dolls with the national costumes and even pastalas, the customary footwear – it could
all be found in Vērmanes dārzs.
Also
to be found within the winding pathways – friends, old and new. One day we met
up with our soon-to-be-relatives that we hadn’t seen since Costa Rica, another
day we bumped into (almost literally) our friend Maksīts from France who we
last saw in Chicago at Christmastime more than two years ago! Some days we had
company in the form of vecmamma Aija,
other days dad joined us for our excursions.
It
wasn’t only shopping, as there were various stations set up throughout the park
that provided free entertainment for the kids. The earth science/environmental
booth offered a variety of interesting hands-on activities, including the chance
to “hold fire” (Lauris chose not to participate, even after mom did) and
explore various household chemical reactions.
On
several stages were an intriguing mix of performances, from traditional folk
songs to new medleys, improve comedy and theatre productions. My favorite was
the instrumental rendition of “Popcorn.” Of course the playground and bounce
house/slide proved to be appealing attractions, giving some valuable down time
for goofing off.
We
spent a little time in the activity tent where kids could try their hand at one
of the many traditional art forms: ceramics, weaving and rotkalšana (jewelry making) among them. Lauris and Mikus were
deemed too young for the pottery wheel but made a couple of pinch pots that
hopefully will be fired in the kiln next Saturday. They also helped make a few
of the tiny metal baubles that would get affixed to one of the versions of folk
costume crowns. I regret not sitting down at the loom, and dream of the day
when I’ll have time to take up weaving, a talent my great-grandfather excelled
at.
The
song and dance festival has ended, but the spirit lives on here in Rīga. As the
37,400 participants return to their summer routines and the thousands of
spectators slowly empty from the city, the festival feeling continues to
resonate – ŠODIENA ATSKANĒS RĪT!
This sounds beyond awesome!
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