Tartu - European Capital of Culture 2024 - Don't Miss Out on These Events!
While summer has arrived in Estonia, it means that we are already past the halfway point of Tartu and Southern Estonia holding the title of the European Capital of Culture. But it’s no reason to fret - there are still so many wonderful events coming up all around the country, making 2024 a very special year for the whole region.
We have already discussed the upcoming Tallinn Fringe Festival and other interesting theater events in the previous blog post on Estonian theater, which you can check out here. Our first blog post on the topic also gives a few recommendations. Feel free to read the whole blog post here!
One event that could be summed up as a whole summer festival is the Car-free Avenue, which has been up and running in the heart of Tartu since early July and will continue until August 12th. For example, there is a youth program that will include sessions with therapy dogs, meet and greet events with local musicians, and a celebration on International Youth Day on the 12th of August.
If you are a fan of dance, don’t miss out on the dance marathon taking place on the 26th of July. This event is part of the Estonian Movement and Wellbeing Festival taking place over two days in the city of Elva. In August, there will be a similar event in the city of Võru from the 24-25th of August called Night Folk Dance festival.
The 12-18 August will be Pride Week in Tartu. The whole week will be full of workshops, performances, city tours and panel discussions. The Pride March will take place on the 17th of August. It is the only pride taking place in Estonia in 2024.
For lovers of street sports, you should join Simple Session from 22-25 August in Tartu. This legendary competition brings together BMX riders and skateboarders from all over the world. There will be many side events all around the city, and of course you can use this opportunity to ride around town with your own skates, board or bike.
If you want to discover some other cities around the south of Estonia, you can catch some fantastic exhibitions like “Wild Bits” in Otepää. This is an outdoor exhibition focused on technological art, and the setting of the art and technology farm Maajaam is the best place to showcase international artists' work in the farmland and natural spaces.
After that, you can head over to Viljandi or Valga to start the journey of “Hidden Worlds Expanding”. This exhibition takes place in three different museums in Tartu, Viljandi and Valga. Under the subtitle Eastern European Outsider Art, this exhibition brings together art pieces made by people in social isolation in psychiatric hospitals or special care homes.
There are too many amazing events taking place to even count them, let alone list them in this blog post! Have a look at the full program on the official website and let us know in this forum thread if you have taken part or will take part in any events in Tartu or Southern Estonia. You can always reply to this blog post directly below as well. Happy discovering and we’ll make sure to share even more events while Tartu holds the title of the European Capital of Culture!
While summer has arrived in Estonia, it means that we are already past the halfway point of Tartu and Southern Estonia holding the title of the European Capital of Culture. But it’s no reason to fret - there are still so many wonderful events coming up all around the country, making 2024 a very special year for the whole region.
We have already discussed the upcoming Tallinn Fringe Festival and other interesting theater events in the previous blog post on Estonian theater, which you can check out here. Our first blog post on the topic also gives a few recommendations. Feel free to read the whole blog post here!
One event that could be summed up as a whole summer festival is the Car-free Avenue, which has been up and running in the heart of Tartu since early July and will continue until August 12th. For example, there is a youth program that will include sessions with therapy dogs, meet and greet events with local musicians, and a celebration on International Youth Day on the 12th of August.
If you are a fan of dance, don’t miss out on the dance marathon taking place on the 26th of July. This event is part of the Estonian Movement and Wellbeing Festival taking place over two days in the city of Elva. In August, there will be a similar event in the city of Võru from the 24-25th of August called Night Folk Dance festival.
The 12-18 August will be Pride Week in Tartu. The whole week will be full of workshops, performances, city tours and panel discussions. The Pride March will take place on the 17th of August. It is the only pride taking place in Estonia in 2024.
For lovers of street sports, you should join Simple Session from 22-25 August in Tartu. This legendary competition brings together BMX riders and skateboarders from all over the world. There will be many side events all around the city, and of course you can use this opportunity to ride around town with your own skates, board or bike.
If you want to discover some other cities around the south of Estonia, you can catch some fantastic exhibitions like “Wild Bits” in Otepää. This is an outdoor exhibition focused on technological art, and the setting of the art and technology farm Maajaam is the best place to showcase international artists' work in the farmland and natural spaces.
After that, you can head over to Viljandi or Valga to start the journey of “Hidden Worlds Expanding”. This exhibition takes place in three different museums in Tartu, Viljandi and Valga. Under the subtitle Eastern European Outsider Art, this exhibition brings together art pieces made by people in social isolation in psychiatric hospitals or special care homes.
There are too many amazing events taking place to even count them, let alone list them in this blog post! Have a look at the full program on the official website and let us know in this forum thread if you have taken part or will take part in any events in Tartu or Southern Estonia. You can always reply to this blog post directly below as well. Happy discovering and we’ll make sure to share even more events while Tartu holds the title of the European Capital of Culture!
Ingrid, OLS Community Manager – Estonian