Võrumaa festival organisers begin cooperation with partners from Latvia
This summer, the music and word festival Aigu om!, led by local musician Mari Kalkun, will once again take place in Võrumaa. What makes this year special is a new cross‑border cooperation with partners from Latvia, launched earlier this year.
During a recent visit to Võrumaa, partners from the Valmiermuiža Association of Culture were introduced to local life and cultural traditions. Together, the teams planned activities for both the Aigu om! festival in Estonia and the Valmiermuiža Ethno Music Festival in Latvia.
In previous years, the festival led by Estonian folk musician Mari Kalkun has brought creative guests from Japan, the United States and Sweden to Võrumaa. This year, the focus turns closer to home – to neighbours with whom Estonia shares similar heritage but whose cultural stories are often surprisingly little known.
The new cooperation brings together cultural communities from northern Latvia and southern Estonia to celebrate regional traditions, strengthen cross‑border collaboration and learn from one another. This aligns directly with the aims of the Same, same, but different project, which addresses limited cooperation between local heritage communities and the decline of traditional knowledge, while giving new life to cross‑border cultural ties.
Musicians, artisans and artists will travel across the border
- On 15 - 17 July, Latvian musicians, artisans and artists will arrive in Rõuge municipality to participate in the Aigu om! festival. Together with the organisers and community of the Valmiermuiža Ethno Music Festival, a special programme will be created to showcase a glimpse of Latvian cultural space in Võrumaa.
- On 18 July, the cooperation continues in Valmiera, where craft workshops inspired by Võrumaa traditions and a musical performance will enrich the Valmiermuiža festival programme. Earlier in the summer, a joint creative residency will take place in Latvia to prepare these activities. These exchanges are part of the project’s wider goal to support joint learning, shared artistic creation and neighbourly interaction across the border.
“I am amazed by how little we know about our neighbours’ culture and communities, even though Latvia is only a few dozen kilometres away,” said Mari Kalkun, emphasising the importance of getting to know one another. “This cooperation gives us the chance to learn more about each other and to create something meaningful together.”
Introducing local heritage to Latvian partners
In addition to planning the festival activities taking place in July, the meeting in Võrumaa in February also included an exchange of experience about how to organise events more sustainably and at a higher quality. It was also a great opportunity to introduce local cultural heritage to the Latvian partners and to experience the enterprising spirit and hospitality of Võrumaa.
The total eligible budget of the project Same, same, but different is 45,120 EUR, of which the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) contributes 36,096 EUR.
