Andres Simonson writes about the Beebi Boomers – the children born in the United States, Canada, Australia, Sweden and other countries to native Estonian political refugees who fled the Soviet invasion and the illegal occupation of their fatherland.* In the war-torn Estonia of 1944, two families from disparate parts of the country make a most difficult decision. With a […]
Beebi Boomers – the children of fate Read More »
A memorial to the victims of communism is to be erected in the Canadian capital, Ottawa, to serve as a public reminder of the millions of victims of the ideology and movement that once took hold in Russia, China and many other countries – and also once ruined Estonia. Around ten years ago, various community
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Kotkajärve Metsaülikool (the Forest University of Eagle Lake), a summerly gathering of Estonians in the Canadian province of Ontario that celebrated its 50th anniversary in August, adopted a statement, calling for Estonians to be recognised as the indigenous people of the country’s territory. Marking the 50th anniversary of Kotkajärve Metsaülikool, the participants greet and congratulate
Kotkajärve Metsaülikool calls for Estonians to be recognised as indigenous people Read More »
Estonian expat organisations in Canada have decided to buy a parking lot in Toronto, Ontario, to build an Estonian community and cultural centre in the city. The project was initiated by the Estonian House in Toronto, the Estonian Credit Union, the Estonian Foundation of Canada and Tartu College, who entered into a letter of intent
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The EstDocs Documentary Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, celebrated its twelfth year of delivering a 360-degree perspective on Estonian history, politics, arts and culture. Documentaries explored the creative process and spirit, as well as a deep connection to land and nature. The master plan This year, the audiences in Toronto turned out in record numbers
The EstDocs Film Festival – upcycling stories about wolves, fashion and politics Read More »
EstDocs, the film festival featuring top documentary filmmaking talent from Estonia and around the world, offers screenings in the expat-heavy city of Toronto. For already the twelfth year in a row, Toronto is hosting EstDocs – an audience festival and juried competition featuring films that have a connection to Estonia. The roster of documentary makers featured in the
The EstDocs film festival returns to Toronto Read More »
The Canadian-Estonian summer camp, Seedrioru, is to celebrate its 60th anniversary this year and invites Estonians everywhere to join them for their anniversary, Suvihari 60. It is a celebration of the summer solstice (Jaanipäev), of Seedrioru itself, a very special place for generations of Canadian-Estonians, and simply of the Estonian spirit, both yesterday and tomorrow. In the
Canadian-Estonian celebration Suvihari turns 60 Read More »
“Motherland” is a short film about Estonian Canadian Kaja Wichman’s journey to the Estonian Song Celebration in summer 2014. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, about 17,000 Estonians arrived in Canada. Currently, there are up to 50,000 people of Estonian descent living in “The Great White North”. Twenty-five-year-old Kaja Wichman from Toronto is one of
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Every time I ask one of my non-Estonian friends to come with me to EstDocs, Toronto’s Estonian documentary film festival, they look at me blankly. “Really,” they say, almost without fail. “An Estonian documentary film festival.” It’s like I have asked them to have lunch with me on the planet Zoltan, to which we will
Toronto’s EstDocs festival: not just for Estonians Read More »
Canada’s “Forest University” – “Metsaülikool” in Estonian – is a cultural phenomenon. Find out how this year’s theme of spiritual health deeply touched the participants’ souls. I knew the “Metsaülikool” (MÜ) magic had begun when Sirje Kiin came bustling determinedly toward me, wrapped in a big towel, on her way to the lake. “Come! I’m
Canada’s “Forest University”: connecting to what is intrinsically Estonian Read More »
