Jelgava marks Latvia’s birthday with concerts, a candle path and a light show on a church tower

Jelgava will mark the 108th anniversary of Latvia’s proclamation on 18 November with concerts, candle displays and a multimedia show, the city council said on Friday, 13 November. The programme runs from morning until late evening, and most events are free.

Morning and afternoon

• 09:30 — flowers laid at the monument to Jānis Čakste, Latvia’s first president. People can leave flowers and candles there all day.
• 10:00 — an ecumenical service for the national holiday at St Anne’s Pro-Cathedral.
• 16:00 — the singer Rihards Saule and his band in the main hall of the House of Culture, with new arrangements of well-known Latvian songs. Tickets cost €5.
• 16:00–19:00 — a celebration in the Valdeka neighbourhood outside Jelgava Lielupe Secondary School, with candle displays, singing, Latvian folk dances and games with the folklore group Svitene, plus hot tea and snacks.

Evening: candles, a concert and a light show

From 17:00, candle patterns made by the city’s amateur arts groups will be on display in Duke Jacob Square. From 17:30 to 20:00, for the second year running, people can help build the Our Path composition in Jelgava Palace park, placing red and white candles in the colours of the Latvian flag between the Driksa bridge and the palace’s south gate. There will be bonfires and hot tea in the palace courtyard, with music by Artūrs Knope and Elza Kanceviča.

At 18:00 a free concert, Lai zied gaismā, Latvija! (Let Latvia Bloom in Light), begins in Duke Jacob Square, and the audience is invited to sing along to popular Latvian songs. The performers are the soloists Kitija Mināte and Juris Vizbulis, the mixed choirs Balti and Mītava and musicians led by Edgars Jass.

From 18:00 to 22:00, a multimedia show, Jelgavas spēka ļaudis (Jelgava’s People of Strength), will be projected on the tower of the Holy Trinity Church. It tells the stories of people whose lives began in Jelgava and who helped to build Latvia. The show repeats every 10 minutes.

A run the day before, and traffic

On the eve of the holiday, 17 November, a free run called Skrien Latvijai! (Run for Latvia) starts at 18:00 outside the Jelgava Sports Hall. The route of about four kilometres stops at the Čakste monument and at the monument to the liberators of Jelgava, and no registration is needed.

Traffic and parking will be restricted on parts of Krišjāņa Barona, Lielā and Uzvaras streets and on the access road to Duke Jacob Square during the celebrations. The council asked drivers to follow the road signs and plan journeys through the centre in advance.