On Saturday, 26 August, both residents and visitors of Riga are welcome to join the joyous neighbourhood festivals in Brasa, Daugavgrīva and Vecāķi and enjoy an abundant programme of culture and activities for both young and old throughout the day.
This year, Riga's Summer of Courage and Joy highlights the uniqueness of each neighbourhood. The neighbourhoods’ graphic design features symbolic representations of each area, e.g. Vecāķi is identified by a float, a resort and fish, Daugavgrīva by a fortress and the Island of Love, while Brasa – by blue flowers, a single flower and the cemetery.
These symbols were designed by artist Valters Kalsers and selected in cooperation with the Neighbourhood Residents' Centres.
Ten years of the Neighbourhood Festival on Hospitāļu Street
On Saturday, 26 August, Hospitāļu Street and its surroundings will become the centre of the Brasa Neighbourhood Festival, featuring an impressive programme of activities, local producers and crafts fair and a wide-ranging concert programme for every taste.
First celebrated in 2014, the Hospitāļu Street Neighbourhood Festival in Brasa is one of Riga's oldest and largest neighbourhood festivals. For its 10th anniversary, the festival has both an ambitious programme and a brand new name – Brasa Neighbourhood Festival. Feel free to join the festival's opening breakfast, accompanied by the fabulous acoustic guitar performance by virtuoso Gints Smukais.
The festival's grand opening will start at 12:00 with a procession along Hospitāļu Street. As usual, the festival will host a local producers and crafts fair, while a range of caterers will offer delicious meals and refreshing drinks to suit all tastes.
From 12:00 to 17:00, visitors of Hospitāļu Street are welcome to take part in guided tours, orienteering games and creative workshops and enjoy various music, dance, theatre and circus performances, table tennis and chess tournaments and discussions, participate in fund-raising for Ukraine, and visit informative stands on the National Armed Forces and the State Police who work to strengthen the security of our country and society.
From 12:00 to 17:00, little ones and families with children are most welcome to test their strength in sponsored competitions for children and teenagers. There will be a climbing/bouldering wall, educational and creative games and activities, workshops in cooperation with the Montessori Centre, a face-painting studio, the “Mārtiņš’ Bubbles” soap bubble show and inflatable attractions.
From 16:00 to 22:00, the square at 73-77 Miera Street will host performances by the bands “Oranžās Brīvdienas” and “Tautumeitas”. The concert programme will be followed by a live fire, dance and music show performed by professional jugglers.
A joyful neighbourhood festival in Vecāķi with concerts by the sea
The Vecāķi Neighbourhood Festival will take place on Saturday, on Pludmales Street, from Kāpu prospekts to the beach. From 12:00, the festival's youngest visitors are welcome to participate in creative workshops, a sports activities programme and an improvisational theatre adventure “Legends of the Werewolf Pine”.
From 12:00 to 19:00, feel free to join us in the talk tent organised in cooperation with the Vecāķi Neighbourhood Association, where discussions on the development of the neighbourhood will be held, as well as a lecture on water safety together with the “Swim Safely” association. The lecture will be followed by practical training by the water. The talk tent will also include discussions on natural diversity and the current situation along the coast of the Baltic Sea, as well as stories from the Vecāķi resort – memories of the recent and distant past.
A magnificent beach stage programme is planned from 14:00 to 21:30, offering a children’s concert and a high-spirited performance by the band “Pirmais kurss”. The legendary band “Pērkons” will play between 19:00 and 20:00, and from 20:30 to 21:30, the stage will host a special musical programme by Laima Jansone and DJ Monsta.
To close the celebration, at 21:30, a fire will be lit on the banks of Vecāķi beach as part of The Night of Ancient Lights.
Excursions and a concert by “Dziļi violets” at the Daugavgrīva Neighbourhood Festival
On Saturday, 26 August, the intersection of Plēksnes and Parāde Streets will host the Daugavgrīva Neighbourhood Festival. An extensive programme of culture and events for both young and old is planned throughout the day, closing with performances by the bands “Dziļi violets” and “Keksi”.
Boasting proximity to the sea, ships from distant lands, and the Daugavgrīva fortress, the neighbourhood takes pride in its unique features, rich history, residents and visions of future development.
The festival will kick off with sports activities at 12:00 with Coach Adils Maksimovs. The festival's youngest visitors are kindly invited to the children's play “Dog and Cat at 13:00 and to the children's disco and soap bubble show “Treasures of the Daugavgrīva Sea” with Ēriks Balodis at 14:00. Until 18:00, kids are welcome to visit the fun zone “Little Strongman”, an ebru workshop and creative workshops held by the Bolderāja Music and Art School.
The festival's concert programme will open at 15:00 with Anta Eņģele and Marko Ojala's programme “Songs of the Sea”, followed by a performance by Antons Trocjuks and Daniils Bulajevs at 16:00, and a concert by violinist Raimonds Ozols at 17:00. The talented singer Aija Vītoliņa will take the stage at 18:00, followed by a concert by the band “Mūzikas kolekcija” from the Bolderāja Group at 19:00.
At 20:00, the band “Dziļi violets” will get the party started, and then pass the torch to “Keksi” at 21:00.
Throughout the day, educational excursions to the Daugavgrīva Fortress will be organised with Sandra Jakušonoka, head of the Bolderāja Group, and accordionist Marko Ojala, as well as a tour of the Daugavgrīva neighbourhood by the residents' association “Daugavgrīva”.
Other events of the Riga Summer Culture Programme this week
This week, a number of events are planned in the Moments of Joy Park in Vērmane Garden and the cultural space “Hive”, including concerts, creative workshops for children and teenagers, the Nationwide Senior Vocal Ensemble Singing Festival, an educational lecture on underwater friends and the Great Puppet Show “Magic of the Fairy Tale Forest”.
On Thursday, 24 August, the legendary Latvian rock band “Pērkons” will give a concert on the Vērmane Garden stage. The band's songs have been a pillar of Latvians’ national identity and pride since the 1980s. For this show, the musicians have prepared their greatest and most-loved hits such as “Zaļā dziesma”, “Slidotava”, “Labu vakar”, “Dziesma par sapumpuroto zaru”, “Gandrīz tautasdziesma” and “Mana dienišķā dziesma”, among others.
On 23 August, the cultural space “Hive” in Bolderāja will host the Summer Closing Event, featuring a performance by the flamenco dance studio “Zambra” together with the dance group “Septiņi kvadrātā”. During the event, kids and teenagers will have the opportunity to test their wit and balance in the “Big Wooden Game” tents. Meanwhile, the accomplished musician and frontman of the band “Dzelzs vilks” Juris Kaukulis will give a concert in the Pļavnieki Green Grove at 30 Andreja Saharova Street. On 26 August, the open-air stage of Pāvuls Jurjāns Music School will host a concert of brass bands. These and many other activities await the visitors of the cultural space “Hive”.
Entrance to the events and activities throughout the day is free of charge.
All the summer cultural events in Riga are organised by the local government. For more information, please visit the website vasara.riga.lv or follow us on the social network page “What’s on in Riga”.
Information was prepared by: Sindija Grāvere, Project Coordinator External Communication Division of Riga City Council, e-mail: sindija.gravere@riga.lv