Midsummer Party in Edmonton

Members and friends of the Edmonton Estonian Society celebrated the midsummer solstice (Jaanipäev) on Saturday, June 22 in the beautiful North Saskatchewan River valley close to downtown Edmonton. The event attracted over 50 participants, including a number of visitors from Calgary. The park-like setting and ideal weather conditions provided the perfect venue for socializing. An evening meal, consisting of a succulent BBQ'd pig, homemade sauerkraut and other delicacies, was enjoyed by all. One visitor observed that "the roast pig and the sauerkraut alone were worth the trip from Calgary".

For the second year in a row, we enjoyed hosting Estonian athletes. (Last August, our Society welcomed the Estonian delegation of over 20 athletes, officials and fans during the 2001 World Athletics Championships: The World's). This year, the World University Wrestling Championships were held in Edmonton during the summer solstice and we were delighted that the Estonian team consisting of Valdeko Kalma, President of the Viljandi Wrestling Club, and Ahto Rasko, who represented Estonia in the 66-kg freestyle event, were able to join us. In the bronze medal match, Ahto lost a close decision to a Japanese wrestler.

Our biannual newsletter, AjaKaja, was distributed for the reading enjoyment of Society members. Owing to its readership of multi-generation descendants and mixed marriage families, the newsletter is published mostly in English. Our aim is to inform the readers about Estonian culture and customs as well as current topics relevant to the development of the land of our ancestors as a vibrant member of the community of independent nations. Anne-Marie Hodes, Eda McClung, Karl Vollman and Dave Kiil were instrumental in the production of this issue.