Roundup: Latvia's schoolchildren gather in Riga for week-long song, dance festival

Dressed in traditional costumes typical of each region of Latvia, schoolchildren from across the Baltic country gathered in the capital city Riga this week for the XI School Youth Song and Dance Festival.

The school youth song and dance tradition is largely borrowed from the Latvian Song and Dance Celebration, a nationwide festival which originated in the late 19th century and takes place in Riga every four years.

Over 37,000 schoolchildren have been taking part in the song and dance festival this year, according to organizers' estimates.

The program of the XI Latvian School Youth Song and Dance Festival, which this year is held from July 6 to 12, consists of some 50 various events, including large choir and dance performances at various outdoor and indoor venues like Vermanes Park in downtown Riga, an open-air stage in the suburb of Mezaparks and Great Guild concert hall in the old city.

Other traditional features of the festival included an opening parade, a major folk-dance show in the Daugava Stadium, a gala in Mezaparks, a brass band concert, performances by folk-groups and a sacred music concert.

The program of this year's festival also featured innovations like a contemporary dance show and a concert highlighting kokle, a traditional Latvian wooden plucked string instrument.

Choir battles, a characteristic feature of each Latvian song festival, took place in the evenings in a square outside the Riga Central Railway Terminal, attracting crowds of onlookers who had the opportunity to enjoy the performances by young choristers free of charge.

The festival's main event will be the closing concert, scheduled to take place at the Mezaparks open-air stage on Sunday night.

Tickets to the festival's shows and concerts sold out quickly but Latvia's public television organized live broadcasts of the main events. Endit