'Treski Thrill' a festival of music and inspiration took place for the first time this weekend in Setomaa, southern Estonia. The three day festival, which kicked off on August 12, featured live performances from top Estonian acts including NÖEP, Lexsoul Dancemachine, Tõnu Tubli and Daniel Levi as well as a special inspiration program with saunas, ice baths and coaching workshops.
The 16th Seto Leelo Day took place this Saturday in Värska. The triennial event brings together Seto people of all ages from far and wide to sing together and celebrate Seto culture. It also provides an opportunity to assess the status of leelo, the ancient polyphonic singing style unique to the Seto community, which in 2009 was inscribed into UNESCO's list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The theme of this year's Leelo Day was 'Joy'.
President Alar Karis spent Sunday and Monday in Setomaa, a culturally and linguistically distinct region of Southeastern Estonia, where he was met several times with traditional Seto leelo, visited various centers of local and Seto cultural life, met with local residents and leaders, and visited Värska High School and Värska Kindergarten.
The rapid installing of razor wire on previously cordon-free sections of Estonia's southeastern border in recent days has been met with dismay from some local residents, agricultural weekly Maaleht reports, with fears of initial disruption accompanied by concerns about harm to wildlife, which may get stuck on the wire, as well as cynicism over whether the work is needed at all and is in fact a vanity project on the party of the Tallinn-based leadership, given no clear and present threat of migratory pressure on Estonia's border currently exists.