Theater Festival Or How I Got A Thumb Up From Olga Dreģe

On August 11, there was a theater festival "Kā to dzīvi vajag dzīvot" (How This Life Is To Be Lived) on the open air stage of Stelpe. Amateur theater groups from District Vecumnieki and beyond had come to celebrate. Each one of them had brought a short piece of show with humorous content.

The special guest on the occasion was Olga Dreģe, actress of theater the Daile, Latvian performing art megastar. 

The parade gathered at the school. Skaistkalne Brass Orchestra with their leader Jānis Kalniņš are our guests again.

The parade went from the school through the alley to the open air stage where there was the celebration.

 

My responsibility was the opening speech. As if it were not enough, I had to sing "The Year of Cavaliers" (Kavalieru gads), an iconic song from an iconic play - "Gösta Berling" by Swedish playwright Selma Lagerlöf. It was actually my first time to sing solo, and that happened with Mrs. Olga Dreģe watching! That was one of the biggest challenges I had ever faced when doing something in public.

While singing, I could see occasionally Mrs. Olga Dreģe behind the scene. She stood there and held for me a thumb up! Do I need to tell how grateful I was for that feedback of hers? Yes, it encouraged me and helped me a lot. 

The theater festival coincided with Olga's nameday. So the flowers from the spectators and fans went not only as a thank you for the performance but also as a nameday greeting.

Iris Naming At Ilga Viņķele

Ilga Viņķele is an iris selectionist. One day in June, she had invited her friends to a little iris name-giving party. Also my wife Sandra Neliusa was there.

 

 This yellow iris now is called Sandra in honor of my wife

 

Looking back to the brightest moments 2012 I

Opera soloist Evita Zālīte sung Russian romances in Stelpe School. Guitar accompaniment - Ivars Hermanis.

Children's dance festival. Young dancers from nearly all the schools of District Vecumnieki took part.

 

Easter celebration together with our friends from South Yorkshire, England - Jean, Ian and their daughter Debbie, for whom this was the first time in Latvia. Also Ilya, a volunteer worker from Ukraina was taking part. He taught us to make an origami frog. 

As for Ilya, he is a very determined young man who has learned to play violin to quite impressive level having practiced only for a year and a half. On a later occasion, he played the lead piece from Pirates of Caribbean at a fast pace without a single uncertain note!

Popular children characters - dwarfs from a TV program played by celebrated artists Dina Bitēna -Sirmā, Atvars Sirmais and Dace Skadiņa. They were our guests in Stelpe School on the occasion of Mother's Day celebration.

Mother's Day concert by Stelpe schoolchildren

Ēriks Balodis is a well-known one man show artist for children. This time he had brought to Stelpe his puppet show about healthy living 'Little Onion, Little Radish and Their Friends'

Brit Sønsterud (right), head teacher of Kjeldås School in Norway visited Stelpe School together with teachers Bente Høydahl and Hanne Marie Ruud. They held a presentation about their school.

Together with our guests from Norway, we went to see tulips blooming by Rundale Palace

Zbigņevs Stankevičs is the Head of Roman Catholic Church of Latvia. He had come to Stelpe to meet with local people. There were also many guests from neighboring communities having come to meet with the archbishop.
Unlike many other Catholic clergymen we have met so far, he spoke about real problems, did not pronounce a single slogan or cliche. He faced even some difficult topics, but his answers were bold and honest. We are happy to know that the second largest Christian congregation in Latvia is being now led by such an outstanding personality as is Zbigņevs Stankevičs.

 

A jolly children's party together with popular cartoon characters

 

Commemoration of the Siberia exile day when shortly after Soviet occupation in 1941, thousands of Latvians were sent to death camps in Siberia. For many of them, their way of suffering began here in the railway station of Vecumnieki.

Aloida Baķe, teacher of history, made a presentation about the Siberian exile in Vecumnieki museum.

 

Jānis Kurševs sings popular songs in a classical manner. He came to Stelpe School together with Ingmārs Zemzaris, composer and pianist. They together gave a beautiful concert dedicated to women.