On Sunday, 11 September, Father's Day will be celebrated in Vērmanes Garden, the Tallinas Street Quarter and the Hanseatic Platform with the traditional parade and festival, as well as various free attractions, concerts, sports games, markets and a street of "street food" delicacies.
Father's Day parade and festival in Vērmanes Garden
The Father's Day parade and festival will be dedicated to all dads in Latvia and Ukraine. As usual, the parade will start at 12.00 and will proceed along Brīvības Street (starting at the Freedom Monument) and end in Vērmanes Garden, where a varied programme of activities and culture for families with children will be held throughout the day in the festival atmosphere.
After the Father's Day parade in Vērmanes Garden, a magnificent programme is expected on the big stage – one of the hosts will be Māris Grigalis together with his children. Various musicians will perform: KATO, Miks Dukurs, Nils Īle, Maija Sējāne-Īle and others. There will also be "Tuta’s things" – Ukrainian Tuta will be visiting.
In the Vērmanes Garden, young and old alike are invited to take part in a wide range of activities. You can play large-scale games dedicated to health education for children and families, watch demonstrations by the Latvian National Guard, take part in bottle jumping and football competitions, take part in science experiments and a rocket workshop. There will also be an open-air photo studio, a rock-climbing wall, table hockey and other activities.
To make the event comfortable for the little ones, there will be a play area for babies and a baby changing room, while teenagers can enjoy attractions such as a free fall and a 360-degree swing. Participants of the Father's Day Festival often come together with their grandparents, so the festival programme is designed to be interesting for the older generation of the family as well. There will be dad gift workshops, a street food town and a fundraising campaign for the Ukrainian war refugee support association "Your Friends".
The Father's Day parade and festival is a family event that has always been attended not only by dads and their children, but also by mums, grandparents and other family members who want to thank the responsible dads. Ukrainian war refugees are also invited to take part in the parade and the festival, to jointly honour the fathers who are left behind, fighting for the freedom of us all.
Father's Day with the band Menuets and creative activities in the Tallinas Street Quarter
On Sunday, 11 September, everyone is invited to the Father's Day celebrations in the Tallinas Street Quarter, where there will be a market, table sports games tournaments, fun activities for children with an animator, as well as a concert by the band Menuets.
From 12.00 to 17.00, there will be table sports games tournaments and everyone can have fun with their loved ones. Games and tournaments will be ensured by HiPotential, with prizes provided by Gardu Muti lemonades. From 12.00 to 18.00, a Latvian producers' market will take place, where everyone will have the opportunity to buy a gift for their father or grandfather.
The festivities will conclude with a concert by the band Menuets, which will be held on the large outdoor stage of the Tallinas Street Quarter from 18.00. The band's songs are trending in Latvia for both young and old (for example, "Dziesma, ko tu sācies?", "Alvas zaldātiņi", "Viņi dejoja vienu vasaru", etc.).
Father's Day also features a variety of events and a puppet show on the Hanseatic platform
The Hanseatic platform invites you to have fun, relax, enjoy various workshops and activities, discover new board games, enjoy performances, gain new knowledge, meet friends and learn about new products in children's toys and design goods on Father's Day from 11.00 to 18.00. There will also be an opportunity to learn graffiti art with artist Dainis Rudens, take part in activities at the Latvian Museum of Natural History, play new board games and take part in a competition attraction. You can also learn new skills through science centre workshops, learn about a safe internet and what a safe home should look like for children.
On the same day, the Hanseatic platform will host a puppet show "Ežumilla" at two times - 12.00 and 14.00 - about a somewhat wild forest fairy with prongs on her head and courage bordering on insolence in her heart. "The inhabitants of the Dreadful Thicket will not know how to cope with the unruly forest fairy at first, but they will eventually become good friends," says the play's synopsis. To attend, you need to buy an entrance card, available at "Ticket Paradise" box office.
Father's Day events are organised by SIA Mammām un tētiem, SIA Tallinas kvartāls, and SIA Hanzas perons with the support of the Riga local government and the Society Integration Foundation. Follow culture events in the capital on the website www.kultura.riga.lv and on Facebook "What's going on in Riga".
Author: Raimonds Grants – Project Coordinator at External Communication Division of Riga City Council Communication Department, e-mail: Raimonds.Grants@riga.lv.