Eesti Elu / Estonian Life

07/02/2025

The Song Festival begins tomorrow! Estonia Koor is once again heading to Tallinn to take the stage at Laulupidu, continuing a proud tradition that began in 1990. At the time, they were the only Estonian choir from abroad invited to perform at the event. Today, they are singing beside Estonians from all over the world.

Eesti Elu spoke with conductor Ingrid Silm about the choir’s history, the legacy of Roman Toi, and what it means to return to the festival in 2025 with a new generation of singers.

👉 Read the full story on our website:
https://eestielu.ca/hakkame-sattima-estonia-koor-taas-tallinna-teel-laulupeole/


📸 Photo: Estonia Koor's conductor Ingrid Silm at Laulupidu in 2014, erakogu.

06/30/2025

The countdown is on — the XXVIII Song and Dance Festival is happening this week! 🇪🇪✨ Dancers from Vancouver’s folk group Kilplased are making final preparations as they get ready to take part in the celebration.

🇨🇦 Eesti Elu spoke with the group about what it means to participate in this year’s festival, "ISEOMA."

👉 Read the full story on our website:
https://eestielu.ca/hakkame-sattima-vancouveri-kilplased-teel-tantsupeole/


📸 Photo: Kilplased in the 2019 Song and Dance Festival parade, by Kai Kiilaspea.

06/27/2025

The wait is almost over — the XXVIII Song and Dance Festival kicks off next week! Final preparations are in full swing, with careful checks to ensure every seam, button, ribbon, and lace is perfectly in place.

💃 Eesti Elu spoke with Talvi Parming, dance director of the Kungla Folkdance Group from Toronto, which has been included for the first time.

👉 Read the full story on our website, available in both English and Estonian:
https://eestielu.ca/hakkame-sattima-terr-kunglal-on-tantsusammud-selged-ja-pastlad-valmis/



📸 Photo: Talvi Parming dancing with Kungla, by Peeter Põldre.

06/24/2025

If you wrote or printed your entire family tree, how wide and tall would it be? Half a square metre? Twelve? It can get pretty big, but as we see while exploring the genealogical tools on Geni.com, there are more efficient ways of presenting this kind of information.

Poking around the dropdown menus and taskbars also reveals ways of increasing the accuracy of our records and integrating them with adjacent families.

Read more in our Tech section before getting back into your genealogical research, and hopefully, learning more about your relatives and ancestors. https://eestielu.ca/features-on-geni-that-will-improve-your-genealogical-research/

📷: While looking at a family tree in fan chart view on Geni, clicking the gear symbol is how you can choose to view more generations at one time (up to seven), like you see here.

06/18/2025

When the grandmother of Camille Intson (AKA Camie, Camie ) passed away, she left countless photographs and pieces of history that led Camille to investigate her family history and Estonian heritage in a deep way, ultimately leading to a road trip across Estonia with her mother and eventually, an exhibit at VEMU Estonian Museum Canada.

As we found out in conversation with her recently, this journey and her research practice is intertwined with a career as a musician, playwright, and artist.

In the latest episode of EstoCast, hear:

📸how Camille witnessed the ongoing military legacy of her great-grandfather in Estonia

🎙️how connections with other people and places form into songs

⚖️a discussion about truth, subjectivity, and unanswerable questions

🔉and much more

🎧 Tune in on your favourite streaming platform today or get it here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1973176/episodes/17351748🎧

Enjoy!

* EstoCast will be taking a break during the summer, but we will be resharing some of our most popular episodes so you can enjoy them again or listen in if you've missed them! *

06/17/2025

Laulu- ja tantsupidu on kohe varsti käes ja Kanadast on mitmed koorid ka võtmas ette teekonna peole - kaasaarvatud Toronto Eesti Meeskoor. 🎶

TEMi ajaloost ja rännakust 👉🏼 https://eestielu.ca/hakkame-sattima-tem-laheb-laulupeole/

📸: erakogu

Tänavune 3.-6. juulini Tallinnas toimuv laulu- ja tantsupidu ,,Iseoma“ on juba enne suurpidu tõestanud, et selliste pidude aeg pole möödanik, vaid kogub üha enam populaarsust. Nii on peole esinema saamine muutunud ülipingeliseks ja lihtsalt niisama laulukaare alla või tantsuplatsile ei pä....

06/10/2025

With ESTO 2025 quickly approaching, get into the festive mood with some more great memories from ESTO 84. 🇪🇪❤️

Take a trip back in time 👉🏼 https://eestielu.ca/memories-of-esto-84-in-toronto/

06/04/2025

Küllap oleme kõik filmihuvilised - käime kinos uusi linateoseid vaatamas või naudime neid kodus striimides. Kuid millised on filmitööstuse telgitagused? Kuidas jõudis üks Kanada eestlane filmiinimeste mekasse, Hollywoodi, ja kuidas ta ennast seal tunneb? Vastuseid neile küsimustele ja palju muud huvitavat leiate meie tuliuues vestluses filmioperaator Alar Kiviloga.

Värskes saates kuulete:
🎬 Alar Kivilo perekonna teekonnast Kanadasse ja tema lapsepõlvest Montrealis
🎬 Kuidas jõudis filmimees Hollywoodi
🎬 Mis teda filmikunsti puhul kõige enam käivitab ja inspireerib
🎬 Ameerika ja Euroopa filmitööstuse erinevustest

🎧 Saate leiate kõikidelt suurematelt taskuhäälingu platvormidelt juba täna või klikkides siia: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1973176/episodes/17273334 🎧

Head kuulamist!

06/03/2025

In the continuation of the series “Off the Beaten Track: Hidden Places of Estonia,” we're revisiting the Põhjala Tehas area of Tallinn, learning from a local coordinator and cultural producer how the forgotten industrial complex in Tallinn was transformed into a cultural hub.

Find out how the area grew, from rubber boots to post-industrial desolation to corgi festivals,👉🏼 https://eestielu.ca/pohjala-tehas-a-hidden-hive-of-culture-in-tallinns-kopli-subdistrict/

📸: Jerry Mercury

05/27/2025

The fifth Estonian Music Week festival has ended - and it was such a great event! 🎵🇪🇪

Check out key moments and memories here 👉🏼 https://eestielu.ca/news/estonian-music-week/

Viies Estonian Music Week on lõppenud - oli tõeliselt tore aeg ja vägev festival! 🎵🇪🇪

05/21/2025

To be a filmmaker, you need to control the wildest variables imaginable, such as extreme weather and explosions, while also making a moving work of art with great sensitivity and attention to detail.

In the newest episode of EstoCast, filmmaking duo Tiiu Loigu and William Shockley are showing us how they achieved that in their latest film, Long Shadows, due for theatrical release on September 26th, 2025.

Come along to San Diego, California, where we’ll hear about:

🌅how country music brought William and Tiiu together

🎥the Hollywood veterans and rising stars bringing this tale of tragedy and redemption to viewers

🌵authentically depicting the design and clothing of the American southwest in the 1880s

🐎and much more!

🎧 Tune in on your favourite streaming platform now or find it here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1973176/episodes/17198129 🎧

Happy listening!