Winter Ethno Estonia 2024

Winter Ethno Estonia will come again! This time for its first little anniversary – fifth edition already!!! Let’s hope that there will be lots of snow and people to celebrate this beautiful adventure 🙂

This Ethno will take place from the 26th January until the 3rd February 2024 at Kiidi Tourist Farm in Võrumaa. This is a magical scenic place in the south eastern Estonia where we can spend a lot of time outside and in the sauna, playing music and dancing, learning about the unique traditions of rural Estonia and doing lots of other exciting things. And of course, there will also be a concert or even a couple of them

The Winter Ethno is also special because the participants can show their cooking skills, yay! As this Ethno will be quite small, we can take the time and challenge to try out the participants’ local foods every day. So get ready with your instruments, towels, warm clothes and recipe books!

ARTISTIC MENTORS

We will have two amazing artistic mentors – Lee Taul and Sami Karkar!

Lee Taul:

“Folk music has played an integral role in my life since my early teenage years. My primary instrument is the fiddle on which I also earned my degree from University of Tartu Viljandi Cultural Academy folk music department. Over the years, I’ve actively contributed to numerous musical bands and projects, been a violin teacher, organized camps, and led various musical initiatives. Currently, I’m employed in the educational department of the Estonian Traditional Music Center.

One of the most significant merits of ETHNO is its ability to establish an epicenter for compassion and empowerment in a very short time. By emphasizing the art of listening and the sharing of music and cultural heritage, it effectively cultivates kindness within us. I eagerly anticipate my role as a leader in this year’s Ethno Estonia Winter edition and the opportunity to be a part of this beautiful experience.”

Sami Karkar:

Sami is a French-Tunisian musician (percussion, guitar, voice) who was initially educated as a western-classical percussionist. He discovered folk and traditional music through the Ethno movement. He has now taken part to more than 20 Ethno camps and other ethno-related events. After being trained as an artistic leader in Ethnofonik, he has been an artistic mentor in England, Estonia, Germany, and Sicily, and has been also in the organizing team of various Ethnos, and eventually launched Ethno Tunisia in 2022. He currently studies “Global Music” at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (Finland) and is an active member of several projects among which Sajaka Trio [@sajakatrio], and Hittawanin [@hittawanin].

ACCOMMODATION AND FOOD

We will stay at the local tourist farm where we sleep in shared rooms. We will cook by ourselves, the main chef will be Margit – the head of the camp, and co-chefs will be the participants. Every day we can cook by the recipe of one of the participants and try out their local food. So that this could go as smoothly as possible, we kindly ask you to already write down in the registration form (additional comments) if your food would be good for breakfast/lunch/dinner and is it more of a strong savory dish or a desert.

We also remind you that February in Estonia can be around 0 to -25°C and there (hopefully!) will be (lots?) of snow. In Estonia we never know what is actually going to happen with the weather but just so you wouldn’t feel worried – the house will be warm and cozy! The Tourist Farm page: https://www.kiidi.ee/et/

NB! The organizers will choose the participants by instrumentation group sizes and the level of playing. We will let you know by the end of December whether you’re accepted or not. Be sure to register and let us know about yourself!

If you have any questions, please write us an e-mail : eestietno@gmail.com