On Monday, 12 June, the Riga cultural event programme for the summer was launched in Vērmanes Garden. Throughout the summer, there will be activities taking place in the more or less distance neighbourhoods of the city, from Midsummer’s Eve celebrations, the XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival, and the birthday of Riga, to neighbourhood festivals, concerts, creative and athletic activities in the city’s parks, and various modern art events.
‘This year’s summer events in Riga will be broader, longer, and bigger! Broader, because of the larger scope of the events across even more neighbourhoods. Longer, because Riga’s summer events begin as early as June. And bigger, because this years’ events will include Midsummer celebrations, as well as the Song and Dance Festival. Riga will also see its first publically announced drone show: an unforgettable event for kids and grown-ups. This will be a unique event for the city, and a part of its 822nd birthday!’ Mārtiņš Staķis, Riga City Council chairman, said.
Celebrations before and on Midsummer’s Eve
Between 15 and 22 June, there will be a few pre-Midsummer events in Riga, including singing and dance events to participate in during concerts, Jānis wreath weaving workshops, folklore group singing performances, an outdoor screening of the cult classic A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer’s Eve, as well as various game activities. On 22 June, at Doma Square, Riga’s guests and citizens will be welcome to come and shop at the Grasses Market (‘Zāļu tirgus’). This will be a place to find and buy products by Latvian farmers and artisans, oak leaf and flower wreaths, and festive herbs from fragrant meadows.
At 20:00 on 23 June, Midsummer’s Eve, Riga’s citizens and guests will be welcome to go to three celebration spots: the ‘Rīgas zaļumballe’ outdoor dancing event at the Green Theatre in Mežaparks, with the musicians including Marts Kristiāns Kalniņš, ‘Citi zēni’, ‘Jauno Jāņu orķestris’, Apvedceļš, and Ivo Fomins. At the Līgo Rīga Grīziņkalnā event in Grīziņkalns, the festive mood will be created by the Raxtu Raxti music group, ‘Teikas muzikanti’ folk band, as well as various folk groups and a special DJ programme for a folk party in Riga. As always, Dzegužkalns will be the place for those looking to celebrate in a more traditional way, with singing, circle dancing with the ‘Rīgas Danču klubs’ folk dance club, a performance by the Iļģi post-folk band, ritual lighting-up of the Midsummer bonfire, chasing off of darkness to the rhythms of the Rahu the Fool music group, and joyful waiting for the dawn to break with the Laimas Muzykanti folk band.
XXVII Nationwide Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival in Riga
The Song and Dance Festival is an event whose many participants and guests make Riga even more beautiful. The city seeks to be welcoming and hospitable to every guest, so that everyone feels at home, and to create a festive mood for all its citizens.
In order to make the Festival more accessible to Riga’s guests and citizens, including those that will not be at the major venues of its events, on 8 and 9 July, there will be public presentations of the large-scale dance performance ‘Mūžīgais dzinējs’ (‘Perpetual-Motion Machine’) and the final concert ‘Kopā augšup’ (‘Upwards Together’) in eight neighbourhoods of Riga (Strazdumuižas Park, Nordeķiu Park, Latgales Park, Arkādijas Park, grounds of Imanta Culture and Recreation Centre, Pļavnieki birch grove, grounds of Čiekurkalns Library, and garden of Bolderāja Music and Art School). Meanwhile, on 7–9 July, the participants and guests of the Festival will enjoy meals at the Festival Restaurant while watching the main dance performance and the final concert on a big screen at Esplanāde Park, near the Museum of Art.
This year, the municipality wants to bring climate-friendly celebrations, and both the participants and the audiences of the Festival will have access to free water taps in the city and eight mobile water dispensers, to be set up in the Festival’s primary venues: Mežaparks Great Bandstand, Daugavas Stadium, Esplanāde Park, and Vērmanes Garden. During the Festival, Riga will also introduce a special 10-euro public transit ticket, encouraging people to use public transit and reducing the use of private vehicles. The participants of the Festival will use public transport free of charge.
Festivals in neighbourhoods and moments of joy in parks
This year’s neighbourhood festivals are going to be even bigger than last year, with songs and activities in 10 neighbourhoods: Ķengarags, Čiekurkalns, Zolitūde, Dreiliņkalns, Ziepniekkalns, Jugla, Torņakalns, Centrs, as well as Daugavgrīva, Bolderāja, Brasa, and Vecāķi. The neighbourhood festivals will take place between 22 July and 26 August, and they will feature items that emphasise their cultural historic significance.
11 July will see the opening of the Moments of Joy Parks (‘Prieka mirkļu parki’) music and arts events in Riga. These will continue until 1 September, with various activities focusing on local residents at Nordeķu Park in Iļģuciems. Every Thursday at eight, starting on 13 July, the Vērmanes Garden open stage will become full of music, applause, and singing and dancing together. The programme will include exciting concerts in various genres: rock, hip-hop, classical, operetta, jazz, folk, and music from children’s cartoons.
Modern art events and Stropi cultural spaces
June will bring the start of the cultural events of the seven Stropi cultural spaces, which will be located in the Pļavnieki Zaļais Birch Grove, Riga Central Library Lucavsala Beach Reading Room, courtyard of the Riga Central Library Čiekurkalns Branch, open stage of the Pāvuls Jurjāns Music School in Āgenskalns, garden of the Latgale District Music and Art School, courtyard of the Bolderāja Music and Art School, park of the Dauderi Branch of the National History Museum of Latvia in Sarkandaugava. There will be various concerts, talks, and workshops across the entire summer.
Riga’s cultural activities in summer will also include modern art events organised by non-governmental organisations in the city. These will take place across Riga, between 10 July and 31 August. Meanwhile, on 13 July, the ‘Drošā telpa Brīvības alejā’ (Safe Space in Brīvības Parkway) modern art project, created in conjunction with the Art Academy of Latvia, will open in the lime tree parkway of Brīvības Boulevard. All of the events will be free of charge.
Riga’s birthday
This year’s Riga birthday celebrations will take place in the Old Town, on 19 August. The event is planned to open with a drone shown in Lucavsala on 18 August, open to every visitor. The birthday itself will offer a diverse and modern cultural programme across the Old Town. The event schedule will include performances by local and foreign artists, and workshops for children and families. Modern stage solutions and picnic zones will help create a festive mood, while the end of the festival will offer a new musical programme dedicated to the slogan of the Riga Summer of Joy and Courage: ‘Prieks un drosme dzimst, kur satiekamies!’ (‘Joy and courage is where we meet!’).
All information about the event schedule can be found on the summer events website, at vasara.riga.lv, and followed on social media, at ‘Rīgā notiek’. Meanwhile, the Riga City Council website will get a special section about summer traffic, with details about summer traffic restrictions in the city.
Information prepared by: Sindija Grāvere, project coordinator, Riga City Council Department of External Communication, e-mail: sindija.gravere@riga.lv
