June for Latvians is important month – when nature blooms and almost in every corner of Latvia you are able to find smaller or bigger celebration for summer solstice.

To celebrate this special time – we will be more than happy to see you in Valmiermuiža, where past, traditions and present will form a shape of unique festival – Sviests. Theme for this year festival is the cycle of time, where we will highlight seasonal rites from time prism and reflect them through different types of art – folk music and dances, worldwide music performances and special workshops. When darkness will hit the ground – everyone will be able to participate in breath taking fire ritual.

The music in this festival is based on folklore and tradition that has passed the test of time and sounds authentic and enjoyable also in nowadays.

DAYTIME ACTIVITIES | free entrance

„Gardu muti” market (local farmers and home-producers, crafts), workshops, food and drinks| 11.00 – 16.00

Folk musicians | 11.00 – 13.00
Etno kokļu kopa
Dandari
Rūžupis veiri

Folk dance concert | 13.00 – 14.00

EVENING ACTIVITIES | from 18.00 | entrance fee 8 EUR

ZeMe (Latvia)
Two amazing artists Laima Jansone (plays kokle – traditional Latvian instrument) and Dj Monsta formed original musical duo – inspired by the mythology of the Earth (Zeme). Special handwriting for this duo is meditative sounds of kokle in combination with cutting-edge technologies and competition between free improvisation and live looping.

Lankum (Ireland)
Group with an alchemical ability combine traditional folk roots with contemporary undercurrents to forge music that is dark, mysterious and transcendental.

Iļģi (Latvia)
The initiators of Latvia’s post folk movement. The mood of Iļģi music ranges from reflective, almost meditative calm, empowering the listener to overcome the sorrows and troubles, to unstoppable, bubbling vitality.

Wipidoup (France)
Band has become a point of reference for Breton music for dancers and other traditional music lovers in their own right. The aim of the Quartet is to find the special trance feeling by constantly varying the musical theme of each composition and offer exquisite traditional music with a contemporary sound.

Fire ritual

Pagan Yearbook |RTU male choir „Gaudeamus”, Uģis Prauliņš (Latvia)

The Pagan Yearbook is a song cycle reflecting the constantly changing seasons as observed in the countryside, at places seldom visited these days – by rivers that run day and night, by a sea that surges in a life of its own, wildflower meadows that are habitats for birds, and forests that are sanctuaries to wild animals.

Katrīna Neiburga will create video projections – especially for our festival performance of the Pagan Yearbook.

Folk dances

Find out more about festival: etnosviests.lv/en
Tickets for evening activities: fienta.com

Farmers and craftsmen from the most distant parts of Latvia will be invited for the fair and asked to take with them their best products to be sold. Valmiermuiža will gather local producers from all around Latvia, offering homemade bread, cheese, smoked goods, lamprey, honey, herbal teas, spices, homemade wine, beer, juice, candied fruit, hard candy, gingerbread cookies and lots more. Everything offered at the fair is natural and, hence, healthy, made by locally grown plants or gathered in the clean forests and meadows of Latvia. Local craftsmen will offer woollen socks, mittens, crochets, hammered work, wooden toys and jewellery to decorate one selves or to give them as presents to friends and relatives. Items made by local craftsmen would make our ancestors proud, as they have been made according to the best traditions. Along the fair all visitors will have an opportunity to enjoy a varied culture programme, including activities to get better acquainted with the traditions of the annual customs, learn songs and games, master some of the traditional crafts and much more. For the entertainment of the youngest visitors, as usual, horseback or pony back riding will be offered. The fair and celebration „Gardu muti” is held four times a year, honouring Latvian annual customs.

Farmers and craftsmen from the most distant parts of Latvia will be invited for the fair and asked to take with them their best products to be sold. Valmiermuiža will gather local producers from all around Latvia, offering homemade bread, cheese, smoked goods, lamprey, honey, herbal teas, spices, homemade wine, beer, juice, candied fruit, hard candy, gingerbread cookies and lots more. Everything offered at the fair is natural and, hence, healthy, made by locally grown plants or gathered in the clean forests and meadows of Latvia. Local craftsmen will offer woollen socks, mittens, crochets, hammered work, wooden toys and jewellery to decorate one selves or to give them as presents to friends and relatives. Items made by local craftsmen would make our ancestors proud, as they have been made according to the best traditions. Along the fair all visitors will have an opportunity to enjoy a varied culture programme, including activities to get better acquainted with the traditions of the annual customs, learn songs and games, master some of the traditional crafts and much more. For the entertainment of the youngest visitors, as usual, horseback or pony back riding will be offered. The fair and celebration „Gardu muti” is held four times a year, honouring Latvian annual customs.