September is National Cultures Month, which shines the spotlight on the national minorities living in Estonia. One of the most colourful events during the month will be the ‘National Cultures Creative Pot’ festival to be held at Jõhvi Concert Hall on 23 September. This important event in the calendar of the national minorities who live in Ida-Viru County is being organised for the 15th time.
1. You can try a wide range of national dishes!
This year the organisers have added national dishes to the festival’s menu. Early birds will have the chance to try a variety of dishes from the buffet in the foyer of the concert hall. Come and find out what Uzbek, Jewish, Russian, Polish and other national dishes taste like!
The Noot café at the concert hall has also adapted its menu in honour of the festival and will be offering national dishes every day during the week leading up to the event.
2. You can buy a truly unique stamp!
A commemorative postage stamp is being issued to mark the 15th anniversary of the festival, along with a specially designed envelope and a unique postmark. The stamp will be unveiled at the Jõhvikas shopping centre in Jõhvi on 18 September but will also be available to buy at the festival itself. Anyone wishing to purchase a stamp should make sure they have some cash on them.
The stamp is being issued in a limited print-run, making it particularly unique. Why not come along to the festival and send a letter using both the stamp and its matching envelope?
3. You can test your skills in exciting handicrafts!
Remember how your grandmother would sit in her chair working away with her fingers and saying how relaxing it was? Perhaps you should give it a go yourself! And where better to start than at the ‘Creative Pot’ festival, where you can learn how to embroider the way the Tartars do, make dolls and add images to ceramics? Narva Lace School will be hosting an amazing exhibition at the festival entitled ‘Lace as an Art’, and anyone interested in giving it a try for themselves is more than welcome to: Olga Kublitskaja from the school will be on hand to share her knowledge and skills.
4. You can take part in a mini-song festival!
Adding a splash of colour to the festival’s gala concert will be visiting collectives from Poland and Belarus, as well as Tallinn Boys’ Choir, led by Lydia Rahula. You yourself can join in with the singing, since folk musicians Ervin Lember, Illar Vimberg and Anatoli Zamahhov have been invited to take part and will be leading a powerful singing experience in which everyone will be encouraged to take part. Many traditional and much-loved songs will be sung as one during the concert.
5. You can enjoy a slice of birthday cake!
This year’s festival will be a sweet experience from start to finish: at the end of the day everyone will be offered a slice of the cake marking the 15th anniversary of the event. So don’t be in a rush to get home or you’ll miss out on coffee and cake – which will be offered on not one floor of the concert hall, but two! As you’re leaving, take a moment to thank festival organisers Anne Uttendorf from Jõhvi Culture & Hobby Centre and Aleksandr Dusman from Ida-Viru County Integration Centre for a great day.
