RIGA - Perhaps everybody, at least once, has had a day when they have had completely nothing to do. This usually happens when, for the whole week, you've stayed at work a bit longer to finish whatever you were doing, until Friday afternoon, so you wouldn't have to worry about it over the weekend. You took your dog to the vet on Saturday, and you didn't pick up the kids at their grandparents, so you'd have a perfectly nice Sunday just to enjoy by yourself. You were planning on spending it the way you think is best.
So at 9 a.m. on Sunday you wake up from the sweet sound of... an electric drill penetrating the wall of your bedroom from the other side. You'd think that God initially made early Sunday mornings for relaxation, to have some more sleep, but your anti-Christ neighbors would beg to differ. So would the birds. This would be a nice story about waking up to the adorable love songs of the nightingales, but unfortunately it is totally fictional because what you usually get is seagulls fighting pigeons, and it sounds nothing like a song.
By the time your neighbors have hung all of the shelves for their extended collection of all their editions of 'The Anarchist Cookbook,' and the seagulls have had their breakfast, you find out that you can't get back to sleep anymore so you get out of bed, take a shower, have your breakfast and then realize something else... You've tried so hard to make your Sunday 'To Do List' as empty as possible, that you've forgotten to think about what you are actually going to do. Just lying on the couch and growing hair doesn't seem like the best option for your only day off, but since you haven't had enough sleep and, having the knowledge that going to the shooting range is either very expensive or rather too brief, the best you can come up with is, in fact, growing hair on the beach, so you head off to go sunbathing. This is the only explanation for why the beaches are so crowded, regardless of the temperature outside.
This week is going to be different because of the annual Riga Festival. Different events are going to be held all around the city, from dawn till dusk all weekend. Exhibitions of poster art as well as urban art, handicraft fairs and Merry-Go-Rounds, a Fashion of the Victorian Age exhibition and a show by the Pantomime Theater.
Well-known cinema and advertising professionals from Riga and Moscow are making an exhibition of the paintings, installations and other handicraft they have made in their leisure time which will end with an open-air cinema showing movies made by the participants, one of whom is the famous Russian director Timur Bekmambetov.
A traditional gala reception organized in honor of couples celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary (50 years of marriage) by the Riga mayor is going to be hosted by local actor Ivars Puga.
There will even be a short marathon (4.5 km) called the O'Karte Night Race, for everybody who'd fancy a run through the streets of Riga at night. The runners will be supported by DJs who will be playing music along the whole route, light shows and, most importantly, cheerleaders giving their support.
This isn't the end of the event list. An Eating Competition, a Parade of Antique Cars, a Knitting Championship, a Skateboarding Competition, a Baltic Championship in Weight Lifting and a Sports Acrobatics Competition will keep you occupied for as long as you can handle. If that still isn't enough there's going to be a Jet ski race, and performances by the participants of the International Salsa Festival. Enough? How about a Fireworks Competition and a Jazz Concert?
This being only about half of all the events planned for the Festival this year, which should guarantee that you will have something better to do this weekend, instead of lying on the beach or in front of the telly. For a full list of the dates, times and places of each and every event, go to
www.rigassvetki.lvThe Riga Festival '09 starts on Aug. 21 and lasts for three days in various places all around the City of Riga.
