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EESTI ELU reedel, 9. septembril 2022 — Friday, September 9, 2022
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It’s time to let loose and celebrate: Tartu College 50+2 is here! Tartu College has become a favourite meeting spot for the Toronto Estonian community and other cultural groups in the neighbourhood alike, it’s a true cultural hub teeming with energy. Preparations began back in 2019 in order to celebrate its 50th anniver sary in a fittingly grand and worthy way in September 2020. Then the pandemic caught us all off guard and brought it all to a halt. Celebrations had to move to a digital platform where we could still get together, remi nisce about the old days and dream of the future, albeit from a distance. A group of Tartu College workers got together and even held a small party in the parking lot just so they could celebrate the milestone together. But the general consensus and feeling amongst everyone was that this wonderful land mark that grew out of architect Elmar Tampõld’s vision de served more, a spectacular cele bration. Finally, two years after the initial anniversary date, we’ve got a massive party in store for you all, a 5-day cele bration with something for everyone, the event of the year! The multi-day bash is kicked off with a proper bang, with Estonia’s premiere funk band Lexsoul Dancemachine (head ed by Ivo Linna’s son Robert) taking over downtown Toronto atop a specially set-up bus on Wednesday, September 21st. The group will perform a series
Kolga’s remarks… (Continued from page 8)
Vladimir Putin’s intent is to weaponize gas in order to erode western support for Ukraine and undermine Canadian and allied democracies by blaming us for rising inflation and energy costs through disinformation. This is happening right now. This morning in Vladivostok, Vladimir Putin doubled down on his accusations about Western sanctions and even claimed “We did not start anything in terms of military action. We are trying to end it.” Putin made it very clear – that the polarization of the demo cratic world that his regime is actively contributing to, will greatly benefit Russia. We are currently witnessing Russian state media and pro-au thoritarian groups promote these exact narratives. Protests that were organized by Kremlin-aligned communists and populist neo-fascists in Europe this past weekend will be exploited by Russian propa gandists to build on them, and destabilize Western democra
of unique pop-up concerts around the downtown core, starting out from Tartu College at 7 p.m. and making its way towards Kensington Market, then Queen Street West. When the event organizer, Estonian Music Week’s execu tive and artistic director Sebastian Buccioni, is asked about where the exact locations for the pop-ups would be, he grins slyly and tells us to keep an eye out for upcoming ads. But we can tell you this much: each of the three performances will be 30 minutes long and there will be space on the bus for 10 lucky winners that will be determined by a draw, more info on that coming soon! Hamilton gets a taste of the funky celebrations with dance party “Funk at the Factory” taking place at the Cotton Fac tory on Thursday, September 22nd, starting at 8 p.m. Opening for Lexsoul Dance machine is the energetic and groovy Nezquik; a four piece powerhouse from Hamilton. In between sets, we’ll have DJs Henrik Ehte (Estonia) and B Bad (Hamilton) spinning some tunes to keep you moving. But that’s not all! Show off some of those moves and cheer on local b-boys and girls as they fight it out in a fast-paced dance competition and watch muralist Curtia Wright create a master
cies. We cannot rule out that these false narratives will not inspire similar protests among Canadian far-right and far-left extremist groups. In Putin’s own words – the sole beneficia ry of this polarization is his re gime. Now that Putin’s bluff has been called, the sanctions waiver issued by Global Affairs should be revoked and the integrity of Canada’s sanctions regime should be restored. Sanctions work when they are applied, sustained and enforced. Finally, Canada should priori tize the development of infrastructure to export Ca nadian gas to Europe – as many of our allies have asked us to do. Canadian small nuclear reac tor technology can also help our allies take control of their own supply of electricity. In fact, Estonia recently signed an agreement to do just that. Canada can provide a mutually beneficial contribution to Euro pean energy security that will lead to greater overall European stability – if we only commit to it.
A photo from the past. Attendees at Tartu College’s first photo exhibition.
piece live. Tickets are $25/$20 and will be up for grabs soon through Eventbrite. To get your true funk injec tion, join us on Friday, September 23rd at the Axis Club (722 College Street) in Toronto, starting at 8 p.m. Toronto funk legends The Shuffle Demons, known for their hit “Spadina Bus,” will take the stage along with Lexsoul Dancemachine for a night of absolute groovy chaos. Famed Estonian singer-song writer Vaiko Eplik will be acting as DJ and host for the night, introducing nostalgic tunes from diaspora Estonian communities and keeping the vibe flowing. Tickets are $25/$20 and selling fast, get yours now at: www.estonianmusicweek.ca A formal ceremony and memorial lecture for Dr. Vello Soots will take place at Tartu College on Saturday, Sep tember 24th at 3 p.m. The lec turer will be renowned scholar and textile artist Anu Raud,
who has gained a lot of notoriety not only in Estonia but around the world with her visually striking rugs. She is an active advocate and for the preserva tion of Estonian ethnography and agriculture, as well as an educator. Her home farm in Heimtali has become not only a museum, but an educational centre and mecca for anyone that holds Estonian folk culture near and dear to their hearts. The lecture will be in Estonian. The long-awaited exhibit “Our Tartu,” dedicated to the history of Tartu College, will also be opened. The event will be free, with donations warmly wel comed. The scintillating slew of events will finish off with the premiere of the TC50 docu mentary film about the land mark building and its history on Sunday, September 24th, be ginning at 3 p.m. English sub titles are included, coffee and kringel will follow. Free, donations warmly welcomed.
Photo: Archives
This spectacular celebration would not have been possible without our sponsors and part ners: Estonian Foundation of Canada, Northern Birch Credit Union, the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (Inter national Estonian Action Plan 2022-2025), Cotton Factory, and Koger Valuations. Bring your friends and rela tives, your sorority sisters and fraternity brothers, all are warmly awaited and welcomed! If you’ve worked at Tartu College in the past, come here for events throughout the years or taken part in any of the various groups that meet here regularly, come and join the party and help us celebrate the important contribution of this landmark to the longevity of our Estonian culture here in Toronto! Info: vemu.ca, estonianmu sicweek.ca, phone: 416-9259405, email: info@vemu.ca
“Ukraine In 20th Century Crises” Toronto street exhibition launches September 16 September 8, 2022 Toronto – A street exhibition outlining Ukraine’s extraordinary resilience in overcoming a century of geopolitical challenges will open in downtown Toronto on Friday, September 16, outside of Tartu College, 310 Bloor Street West. The exhibition will run for two weeks until September 30. The exhibition was developed by The Estonian Institute of Historical Memory and was pre viously installed outside of Estonia’s parliament. The Toronto exhibition is sponsored by VEMU The Estonian Museum in Canada, The Estonian Central Council in Canada and the Central and Eastern European Council in Canada. Ukraine’s rich culture, language and history are highlighted by the exhibit, as are efforts by European imperial powers to conquer, control and colonize it. The exhibit challenges Russian government disinformation that promotes a distorted extremist nationalist view of Ukrainian history – suggesting that there is no Ukrainian culture or nation. “We’re fortunate and grateful to be able to work with a world class memory organization like the Estonian Institute of Historical Memory to bring this extremely important and relevant exhibition to Toronto to help fight against Russian neo-fascist information warfare” said CEEC President, Marcus Kolga. “The Estonian community in Canada will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Uk raine and Canadians of Ukrainian heritage” added Estonian Central Council President Kairi Taul-Hemingway. “The Estonian Museum in Canada, located in the heart of Toronto, is proud to host the exhibition and we hope that tens of thousands of Canadians, who pass Tartu College each day, will stop to learn more about Ukraine over the two week exhibition period,” said the Chief Archivist of VEMU, Piret Noorhani. For more information contact: ceecouncilcanada@gmail.com
