Day 13 - Berries, Rahvariide ja Tantsupidu!

​Today was a bit of a slower start because I knew we had a big day ahead! Dad and I headed into the city for a little secret business then we headed over to Baltijaam Turg, or the markets. On the way we bumped into a number of Australian Estonian’s, there are so many of us here now, including my Auntie! I was wearing my Estonian badge hat, so it would be hard to miss me. As I was talking, Nora, from Eesti, came up and gave me big hug, she was on the way with the youth delegates to the Mareamae Memorial. She has worked so hard for ESTO2025, an incredible young lady! When we got to Baltijaam we found mum and went into the markets. Oh my gosh the abundance of berries, rich in reds, blues and all the colours, and chanterelle mushrooms! Oh my! There was an abundance of all these beautiful things. I remember last time chantarelles were like 60 euro/kg, now they were 12, because there is an abundance of them. It felt so incredible to be in amongst all of this because that is how I remember Estonia as a kid, all the berries! The strawberries are really big AND sweet! The raspberries are big, blue berries in abundance, incredible. I wish we had fruit like this at home. We wondered into the market area where mum went to the antique shops. We saw so many broches, some old folk costumes and a lot of old Soviet things. Of course mum had to buy a kids Rahvariide shirt, it was a good price after all. After we finished in this area, we went down to get some Kalev chocolate and Bao Buns for lunch. The Kalev chocolate company had a big promotion that if you had a Laulutantsupidu wrist band on you got 25% off, and mum had one, so I think we bought about 1kg worth of chocolate, maybe more. Then we headed over to the bao bun place and I got the most delicious mushroom bao. It was so tasty, I really enjoyed it. We did a little bit of shopping and then headed back to our accommodation for a rest before the afternoons entertainment at Tantsupidu!!

It was getting to that time of day and we started getting ready to go to Kalev stadium and watch the Tantsupidu performance! We were very fortunate to get tickets for the opening ceremony because tickets for all of the festival sold out in a matter of hours. They even opened up the dress rehearsal for tickets because it was so popular this time and it really did not disappoint. When we arrived there all he could see was a beautiful sea of folk costumes, with such a variety of colours, patterns, designs and not to mention all the stories behind them. I just adore the generational knowledge that's passed down about these folk costumes, and I ran into a lady who was wearing the most beautiful Kadrina costume. It was so bright in colour and I asked if I could take a photo of her and then she called over her mother and her grandmother who were part of the construction of this costume, but also wearing their own Kadrina folk costumes. I really enjoy the tradition that is part of the Estonian culture when it comes to our Rahvariide. There are an abundance of stories that are connected with each piece and I absolutely adore hearing them because these are the stories that need to be shared, and it helps build the richness of our culture and traditions. It was incredible because everywhere you look there was a different pattern, different region, different colours, and it was just everywhere. This really inspired me to continue to produce new products an you collections for Estonian Designs AU, because there is so much to these designs, and yes they look great however the history behind it is the most meaningful and impactful aspect I feel. Before I went into the seated area I connected with a lovely lady, Maria, who I had been communicating with on Instagram through our businesses. We had planned to meet and I saw her beautiful range of Estonian jewellery and I just had to get some for myself. She was very kind and gifted mum and I some beautiful pieces and for that I am extremely grateful. She has some incredible looking jewellery which I really like, I wish I could buy more of it!. There was a moment when I was looking around at the different costumes and I saw the Foreign Minister walk past, so I tapped him on the shoulder and asked for a photo! I told him I was from Australia and heard him speak at the forum the previous day, he was gracious enough to let me take a photo with him. Once we got to our seats, we discovered we were surrounded by Australians because we had all bought tickets in the same area. It was really nice connecting with people that I knew and watching the performance altogether. During the opening ceremony they started a beautiful tradition where all of the teachers of each group come out and sing this beautiful song an welcome the flame of the festival another dignitary's to the dance festival. Our very own teacher was part of this see of Estonian culture and I had such a moment of pride watching her be part of this. They sang a song during this moment, I'm not sure what the words were, but it just brought up so many emotions of pride, connection, culture, and it really made me feel proud to be an Estonian, and filled with a sense of gratitude that I am able to be here to witness these incredible cultural events that are so tired to our history in Estonia, and I just get to be part of it. After they had done the formal proceedings they started the dancing. This was just wow! Every dance that was done, every pattern that was made just filled me with joy and I really couldn't get enough of what they were doing. The feelings and emotions are also somewhat indescribable, unless you were there seeing how they get the dancers off the stage how they bring them back onto the stage, or I should say field, is the most beautifully choreographed thing you'll ever witness. There were over 11,000 dancers they had to manage, and they did it with such beauty and grace that you will never see anything quite like it anywhere else in the world. They have got this down to a fine art here in Estonia, and again I am so grateful to be able to witness this, and be part of it.
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It was really good to see some dances that I knew how to do myself, from when I was in the folk dancing group, but they were redone in a new way. They did Mulgi Polka and Kikapuu, which are two of my favourite ones to either dance or watch. Then of course at the end they did the famous Tuljak! This dance is iconic to Estonian culture and it is often done at the end of a celebration. It is always done at the end of the dance festival and has become a staple in Estonian culture over many years. The most famous part of this dance is at the end when the men lift up the women and they have their arms in a particular formation that just looks so grand, you definitely cannot miss it. Towards the end of the dance festival we were privileged to see the Australian dance group, Virmalised, come onto the field and be part of the performance. We picked them straight away because of Taimi’s pink hair, and we knew the folk costumes they had. It was incredible being able to watch them perform the dancers they had been practising for over a year extremely regularly, not to mention they come from all over Australia. It was really sweet at the end because they were one of the last groups to leave the field, and they started doing kangaroo hopping. This was a really special moment. One thing I really liked about the dance festival was the choreographers of each section were put up on the screen, they were standing there looking so proud of the work that had gone into this, and most of them were women and they just looked like Queens. To be able to come up with an idea, and the formations that the dancers formed on the field, then work out how to choreograph the dancers, and which dances to utilised, is an incredible thing to be able to do.

​After the festival had finished we all started leaving, and to our delight the dance group worked out where we were sitting and they came to the area where we all so the man could take photos with them. I was so proud of their achievement because I saw them frequently at Estonian house in Sydney, gathering, practising, and really making it the best performance they could. It was truly something special to have them come over and see us, take photos with them in their costumes and just relish in their high and in their joy! We started heading home and I realised we were in a wind tunnel! Thankfully Denis (my driver) came and picked us up, I shared my location with him, and we were home safe and sound, ready for bed!
Until tomorrow
Marissa xx