BISS 2016, Valmiera´s Theatre Festival and Valmiera´s City Festival

   So this week has been and intensive but incredible week for my project but also for Valmiera. Valmiera was celebrating its City Festival, an annual festivity in commemoration of the town, while also one week before the newly event Valmiera´s Theatre Festival came in. And meanwhile, I joined in the Baltic International Summer School 2016 for, not only improve more in my field research skills and help the staff members but also to get closer to how Valmiera creates and handles its events. So, let´s get in the story!

   Baltic Summer School was a great opportunity to learn about how Valmiera is doing to attract tourism (mostly national and baltic tourism). We went to several places such Cēsis, Vaidava -one great lake near Valmiera- and others, Rubene and others

A cave in flat Latvia, Gauja´s Park is an amazing surprise box. The best is that this hole in the earth was bigger than you could expect, filled of water and deeper than it looks at first view (as there is a dark corridor).

The nice Vaidava lake looked for me like a great place to spend a sunday afternoon; if you have car you can take a swim on the lake, play volleyball, fishing or even use some kayaks to sail around!

This time lead to discover some other places of Valmiera such its main brewerry factory, Valmiermuiža; which aside of being one of the most famous beers in Latvia (by the way, these days I realized 100% that Latvia is a beer country) it also receives visits...and also you can try its varied beers they are producing!

Of course there were the investigation part, thanks to that I was more in the festivals that Valmiera was in. I even participated in the parade. On friday Valmiera makes a parade where several local groups such the policemen, the ambulance service, the university staff (where I was)...the Rimi workers; many groups!

The participation in the parade is an example of our integration in the events, we worked as researches to find out what could be the best for Valmiera´s tourism:

Including field researches and writing reports...

...attending interesting lectures about latvian culture (a.k.a. how latvians in the best way are as well)

And a final speech of the results we handed in.

For our free time we visited the several events that Valmiera offered during its "special days". Whereas my personally favourite and most original one was a small concert at dusk in the water pond there´s in the center of the town. Now, I have in mind that for next years would be amazing if the scenary would be bigger, alowing more musicians at once (the boat used for the river boat trips are good for it I think) and instead in the pond in Gauja´s River, moving through the river´s course if possible. Wouldn´t be jut great and original?

 There was open-air cinema and concerts! latvian ones, the main difference I´d say. Valmiera´s City Fest reminded me like out traditional town´s festivities in Spain, only with no bulls and folk concerts being different. But open-air cinema and fairs are all over around (along with blocked main streets); also another difference is that there is not much beer as in Valmiera as well:

But the time was great. Enjoying and making new friends in the most vivid days of Valmiera. Celebrating together! locals and foreigners.

Kārlienas Pagalma Svētki

Today in Laipa Gallery (remember, one of the few art galleries in Valmiera) there was this special event consisting in several workshops and exhibition around the gallery, in and out, supported by proffesional artists in each field shown: from etching lithography, woodcut, painting and photography (I guess it´s a destiny hint that my idea of making an exhibition hosting all of them is NOT a sassy idea after all).
There was also a storytelling part as well in the backyard, not to mention some acoustic concerts too. This whole event took place from midday to the very evening (21:00). Here some snapshots:

From the arts workshops:

An almost step-by-step process of printing from wood-cut:

Don´t forget the concerts as well:

 And there were also some ceremonies to congratulate the artists and their support, with proper flowers and the local goods of this town: the beer from Valmiermuiža,

And after some explanation about he exposition, which all of them were focused on the landscapes of Valmiera:

Nice event, as long as it took the whole (not the night) and it took a calmed progress rather than an intensive one as have been these last days with the celebration of the solstice. Maybe is was quieter than I expected but still it was a complete pack of the events and it fullfilled the requirments. I really like the avaliability to make lithography and woodcut (good ol´ days come to me) and touch a litho stone once again (althought the press process was to take to Riga where the press was. After all, how you are going to take a litho press? without spending lots of money I mean).

Saulgriezis 2016

One of the best celebrations of Latvia is coming, the mid-summer fest, and in the country is preparing. In Valmiera, in the neighborhood of Valmiermuižas, right where one of the most famous beer factories of the country is, there was the celebration of Saulgriezis, for those who are short-minded of latvian (such me) it means "celebration of sun", basically.
For the whole day there were several things to welcome the visitors. At the daytime, the fest was filled of stores and traditional shows, while at the evening folk songs and dances encouraged the souls there.
  And I was the whole day witnessing it...
The first place you meet, aside of the brewery factory, is...a tent about how to brew!

The rocks are employed for giving a taste to the beer and also to heat up the water as well.

There, the barm is milled like bread. The taste of the beer was quite nice at the end.

And after checking the beer making close to it we have also the place to show how to make traditional bread:

But it takes time to build the oven itself, having to left the clay (a mix of clay and sand, actually) dry and removing the wood. All these activities of traditional making are not far from the image of the traditional markets in my country but the difference reside in the activities themselves, as beer for example is not something that popular (or that resourceful) in my homeland.

Flowers and plants seen in Mid-summerfest (in Latvia is called Līga), its uses vary, they can be employed for feeding the bonfire or as a crown.

The Mid-summer supply: beer and cheese!

And some women dressing the typical folk costumes (and singing folk as well...singing something about "ligua"...).

Also, there was a post that showed how to make the tasty typical cheese for Mid-summer.

Ceramyc crockery for the moment. I like the vessel for hot wine (bottom image). Notice the Jumis symbol on them, in the recipient used to heat up the vessel.

Another practical detail: see the color dots? they are used to advise when the drink is too hot in the vessel.

And there you can see the family symbol: a three holed composition.

And around the market there were several other typical things:

Such already made bread, without waiting to get ready in the oven.

Sweets of larger size than the standard

Wooden toys with the ancient latvian symbols...

...and in jewelry too. I like this one, specially as it had also some representations of viking symbols circa XI century, when they roamed around.

Oh! and chocolates! with cats on them! (the...ahem...very popular, without considering it, animal in this country). The cat it´s because this packaging has the motto of "I eat what I want, I eat what I crave".

And some more utilities to be found in the market!

Porcelain! there´s a porcelain guild here yet! I like the detailistic of these storks shown in the picture.

Instruments that produce the sound of Latvia (aside of flies´ buzzing) and one object that I like a lot too: ceramyc canteens.

Couldn´t miss the bee based products, as the business is popular in these lands.

Some more jewelry, closely based on the ones found on archeological excavations in Cesis, along with tool replicas of the same tools that the Iron Age ancestors used in this zone.

And this is cheese. Balls of cheese in jars of oil!

These plants are nor exactly for ornament...

...but for giving a curious "wooden massage":

And of course, we couldn´t miss the folk dances. These ones were at day:

There´s something that I´ll keep repeating myself: It´s always in couples? couple groups? Not always, sometimes are just group...but mostly ending in couples; I guess it´s related to the past of these celebrations and dances (such when you go looking for the fern flower very soon as well).

Then, the night arrives in Valmiermuižas:

Well, the "night", which now is 2 hours long basically. I should say the evening. The evening came and the festival welcomed it with some interesing concerts.

Concerts of folk music! Featuring one of my favourite instruments! the bagpipe! I didn´t know that it has relation with Baltics...does it really has? well, yes, the dūdas.

And also the very popular kokle (middle).

The hours got darker and the show went on! Before moving on here´s a detail I would like also to note:

Even the trash bin had style!

Now, keeping the line, the concerts were the main event at evening/night. As the market tents went away and the beer posts replaced the ambient the scenary got filled by the cute latvian lyric and the nightlight ambience. Besides, there was some estonian too:

And with this the festival ended!

It was an intense day (althought writing articles for me is more "intense"...of work, honestly). Having an all day event where traditional crafts and concerts were present, such something proper from here, actually. Let´s see how will the big day, the Mid-Summer day!