The Best Baltic Festivals in March 2020
There’s a festival happening today, tomorrow, and every other day somewhere in the world. March is a great month for worldwide festivals, boasting a wicked diversity of events on every corner of the globe. Here are the best Baltic festivals in March – a mix of culture, music, and folk – this month to get hyped up about. Also, it’s March break: go somewhere!
Kaziukas fair
March 6-8, 2020
Like every year, this year during the first weekend of March the streets, squares and other expected and unexpected places will be flooded with the Kaziukas Fair. With centuries of tradition, the displaying of original handmade products, the feasting on culinary heritage dishes, and the delighting in Verba, a Kaziukas fair has no equal in neighboring countries. There will be a lot of traditional entertainment. From theater to folk songs and dances. From a concert of Lithuania’s most celebrated and accomplished singers to a full day dedicated for families and children. Whatever the age group or nationality, Kaziukas fair will hold something special for everyone. Find our more about this fair in our article.
Baltic Ballet Festival
March 6 – April 26, 2020
The International Baltic Ballet Festival is first conceived of by Lita Beiris, one of Latvia’s most renowned ballerinas and an integral part of nearly all ballet performances in Riga in the 1980s. She organized the first festival in 1996. And after she has continued to attract incredible talent to Riga each spring from all over the globe. The festival’s motto ‘From the classics to the avantgarde’ ensures the latest cutting-edge choreography as well as star-studded performances of traditional ballet. The 26th annual International Baltic Ballet Festival will include professional dancers from the US, France and, of course, Latvia.
Vilnius Coffee Festival
March 6-8, 2020
The best talks are over a cup of coffee. Vilnius Coffee Festival is all about blooming Lithuanian coffee culture and everything embedded: craft food and drinks, fashion, lifestyle. Taste coffee from all over the world, learn more about how it gets from the farm to your cup, try blends prepared especially for the festival. Moreover, have a coffee prepared at the official All Stars Bar, meet up with the most famous roasters in the Roasters Village. Also, you’ll have the opportunity to hear more than 15 interesting coffee presentations and watch baristas compete for the title of Vilnius’ best cup of coffee. This March festival is an event for true coffee lovers.
Vilnius International Film Festival Kino Pavasaris
March 19 – April 2, 2020
Since the rise of independent cinema in the 1990’s, the art of making movies is no longer a tool to make your (day)dreams come to life. Vilnius International Film Festival (Vilnius IFF), Kino Pavasaris, is the biggest and most important cinema event in Lithuania. Over more than 20 years, the festival has become a highly attended cultural phenomenon. It is the largest cinematic event in the country, known and loved for its high-quality film program. Also for the rich accompanying package of cinema-related events, workshops, and special initiatives. Vilnius IFF is a socially responsible organization that presents educational and social projects alongside numerous films and competition programs. One of our most successful projects is the Film Caravan. The project’s main goal is to bring auteur cinema to people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to see it.
Without any particular order, this festival not to miss in your lifetime.
Tallinn Fashion Week: autumn/winter
March 19-20, 2020
Tallinn Fashion Week (TFW) presents the latest trends in Estonian clothing design and brings together couturiers, fashion enthusiasts, and industry experts. TFW is an event that has been organized by the Estonian Fashion Council since 2007. Most importantly, TFW is a dialogue with the fashion consumer which develops the awareness of the society on design and enables the promotion of cooperation between different design areas.
The program includes several fashion events, including designer shows, exhibitions of fashion drawings, seminars, and performances. Naturally, guests can also enjoy a show of the latest trends in the Estonian clothing industry.
International Day of Happiness 2020
March 20, 2020
The celebration of happiness all over the world started in 2013. The International Day of Happiness is a celebration initiated by the United Nations, the aim of which is to enhance one of the most important emotions in every person’s life, namely, happiness. Every year on March 20, Kaunas is looking for it and celebrate its various formats. Sharing, communication, moving, understanding, trying, planning, never stopping, feeling, accepting and taking part are all mottoes of March 20th – the scope is wide enough for everyone to choose what provides most happiness for him or her. Organizers’ aim is to develop this day into the happiest festival, which, by 2022 and even more actively afterward, would be celebrated not only in Lithuania but entire Europe as well.
Everyone can become part of the Day of Happiness! All it takes is to unleash your imagination and think about accessibility.
Tallinn Music Week (TMW)
March 25-29, 2020
Tallinn Music Week is the biggest indoor festival and music industry conference in the Baltic-Nordic region, attracting an enthusiastic audience of nearly 20,000 music lovers from Estonia and neighboring countries. The 3-day music festival presents brave new multi-genre acts from all over Europe and beyond in Tallinn’s best concert venues. The line-up presents around 800 industry players, more than 200 Estonian and international acts from diverse musical genres from pop to jazz and hard rock to electronic music. The festival’s side events cover art, design, public talks and various urban space activities. The TMW City Stage program offers daily free pop-up concerts in unexpected and exciting places across Tallinn. So try to explore the city through music!
Estonian Music Days
March 27 – April 5, 2020
Estonian Music Days focus on the contemporary creations of modern Estonian composers. This festival has been and still is one of the main arenas and seedbeds for the new streams of Estonian music, where composers can experiment and take risks without fear of failure and the audience is encouraged to grasp both the mind-blowing and unexpected and the more traditional ones that establish cultural continuity. The program balances between domestic and foreign, intimacy and grandeur, not limiting itself to specific genres. Estonian Music Days will thereby obtain an unprecedented international scale and both Estonian music and its listeners get a chance to relate to all kinds of musical ways of thinking and aesthetics of sound. You can’t miss it.
In conclusion, March shouldn’t just be about taking a mindless vacation to a place like Cancun for Spring Break. Maybe this March you’ll find yourself at one of the festivals mentioned above.
The Baltics is a great destination for the beginning of spring. Moreover, it’s best to start in Vilnius and work your way up to Tallinn via Riga. Break up your visit however you like! For example, spend one or two days in Vilnius, a day in Riga, and a couple more in Tallinn to get a feel for each city. Jerulita team are experts in the field of travel. We have tried and tested a huge range of fun and unforgettable experiences. All of it we’re happy to share here. To sum up, if you need more specific information about the things to do in the Baltics, don’t hesitate to contact us travel@jerulita.lt!
