XIII Children and Youth Folklore Festival "PULKA EIMU, PULKA TEKU" Riga, May 4-5, 1996

The participants of the festival are children and youth folklore groups, who are studying different forms of traditional culture and have reached the level when they can show their singing, playing instruments, dancing, as well as their folk costumes to others. The previous 3 years usually about 80-100 Latvian groups and 5-6 foreign groups participated, that is, about 1500-1800 participants.

A special feature of this festival is its thematic orientation: every year a different main folklore-rooted theme of the festival is announced, and every group tries to approach this theme from their own point of view. The theme of the coming festival is "Forest" (some ideas, what is meant by this theme: forest as a human; forest and human; holy grove and bushland; secrets and miracles of forest; different plants, trees, mushrooms; different animals living in the forest; forest versus cultivated land; the sounds of forest; the smells, tastes, colours of forest; mythological creatures of forest or mid-world etc.). Of course, this does not mean, that every group should sing about forest or dance some animal dance; nevertheless, the theme should be noticed somehow.

The pre-stage of "PULKA EIMU, PULKA TEKU" starts in January and will finish in April. Those are regional festivals, with 10-12 local folklore groups participating. Usually the participants of the grand concerts are chosen there.

"PULKA EIMU, PULKA TEKU" will be in Riga, May 4-5. There will be 2-3 grand concerts in the concert halls of Riga Latvian Society House and Congress Palace, some activities in the streets and squares of Riga like singing, playing games. Important part of the festival are workshops: traditional and modern crafts, instrumental playing, story-telling, games etc.

Within this festival for the first time there will be arranged 2 competitions: traditional kokles-playing and traditional couple and solo dancing.

And finally, after the festival, on the 6th of May there will be a seminar, where several questions should be discussed, among which the most important: this festival, its success and shortcomings, children's folklore and how to collect it, motivation of modern folklorism etc.

Festival "PULKA EIMU, PULKA TEKU" is organized by the Centre for Ethnic Studies of the University of Latvia.

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