Midsummer magic in Tallinn

  • 2014-06-04
  • By TBT staff

OPEN AIR DINING: This isn’t the place to just eat and run.

TALLINN - June in Estonia is famous for long days and short nights. It’s warm and sunny - the ideal time to be outdoors. Restaurants and cafes have already opened their summer terraces. Tallinn hosts an abundance of live music and theater performances in its parks, squares and outdoor venues. And be prepared because there’s magic in the air: it is time to celebrate Midsummer Day when your most secret wishes may come true.

Tallinn’s Midsummer festivities kick off on June 5 with Tallinn Treff Festival (June 5 - 8). The Treff Festival is an international visual theater festival with the goal of introducing and popularizing modern puppet arts and introducing audiences to new art forms. This year will feature top performers in puppet, visual, and object theater from Finland, Russia, France, Italy, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Spain, Estonia and Slovenia. The festival will offer separate programs for adults and children.

SuperRally 2014, which will be held on June 6 – 9, brings more than 10,000 Harley-Davidson fans to Estonia. The Estonian Harley-Davidson Club will organize the 40th SuperRally in Tallinn, which is the largest annual get-together for Harley-Davidson and motorcycle enthusiasts in Europe. The event takes place in the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.
By invitation of the city of Tallinn, the Harley-Davidson federation and the Estonian Harley-Davidson club, Bill Davidson, representative of the fourth generation of Harley-Davidson founders and vice president of Harley-Davidson Motor Inc. Museum, will visit Tallinn for the grand opening of the event on June 6.

“[I am] looking forward to attending the Super Rally in Estonia. I’m sure it’s going to be an awesome time. Just like past events I’ve attended, like the Presidents meeting in Feldkirch, Austria; the Super Rally in Paris and the Super Rally in Sweden. They were all a great time with experiences of the rides, unbelievable scenery, and meeting great people. What a fun time and I look forward to this in Estonia. Thanks for riding the best motorcycles in the world, Harley- Davidson! Can’t wait to see all of you in Estonia!,” Bill Davidson said, commenting on his upcoming visit.

The Rooftop Cinema (May 5 – Aug. 31) is Estonia’s first and only regular outdoor cinema that provides a unique opportunity to watch high-quality films. The program includes various film styles and genres from timeless classics, prohibited films and documentaries, scandalous, cult and freak films to more recently released movies. It is located in the very heart of Tallinn, on the terrace of the most popular shopping center, Viru Keskus.
Tallinn Flower Festival (May 23 – Aug. 29) is an annual garden design festival. This summer it features the work of both local and international landscape designers. The festival will be conducted beside the medieval town walls around the picturesque Tower’s Square, Tornide valjak. In addition to the display, the festival will also feature an entertainment program.

Nargen Festival, held from June 16 – Sept. 11, will present the best classical music and new compositions. Performances are taking place in Tallinn’s churches, the island of Naissaar (Isle of Women or Nargen in German) and other locations all over Estonia. The creative director of the festival, conductor Tonu Kaljuste, won a Grammy Award in 2014 for the best choral performance for Arvo Part’s “Adam’s Lament.” The festival runs a sub-program dedicated to local composer Arvo Part, the most frequently performed living composer in the world, according to the London-based classical music review website Bachtrack.com.

St. John’s Day or Midsummer Day (June 23) is one of the most important and beloved holidays for Estonians. The mysterious night is full of beliefs, omens and rites used to turn fortune in your favor. Midsummer Day is celebrated in various places in Tallinn but Estonian Open Air Museum and Museum of Coastal Folk in Viimsi are good places to get acquainted with the country’s history. Both museums showcase the traditions of Estonia’s biggest summer event and national holiday, the summer solstice.

This summer, residents and guests of Tallinn will also have an exclusive opportunity to enjoy high quality cuisine in the most unlikely of places – 50 meters above the ground. Dinner in the Sky will visit Tallinn twice this year: first from June 10 – 15 and again from August 12 – 17.

Twenty-two guests and one exceptional chef will share an unforgettable gastronomic experience in the sky above the capital, enjoying an unparalleled view of Tallinn and its surroundings while delighting in rare dishes and fine drinks.
And this is just the first month of Estonia’s beautiful summer season. There will be plenty of things to do and to see for children and adults, as summer is in the air with its warm sunny days.