News

One answer to the question “Where does the beauty of Tukums lie?” can be found in the gardens of the town’s residents. These are spaces that haven’t yet been turned into green lawns, but continue to delight both home-owners and passers-by with their blossoming spectacles. To highlight this special aspect of our city, we will celebrate a small town festival called “Blossoming of Tukums” (Tukuma ziedēšana) on 18 July this year.

During the festival, we turn our attention to gardens and flowers — we invite you to meet the owners of plant collections and ornamental gardens, and to shop at the Plant Market and to buy goodies from local producers and artisans in the Town Park. Everyone will have a chance to let their creativity run wild and become part of the creation of these unique flower gardens on Lielā Street and in the Catholic Church yard. You’ll be able to observe the gracefulness of horses in show jumping competitions at Pauzera Meadows, listen to stories about the town in the Tukums Castle Tower, and to finish the day, let yourself be carried away by the sounds of music that will fill the park and let festive spirit into everyone’s heart.

Another highlight is the Festive Market. This time it will take place at the Town Park which will be turned into a meeting place at the Garden Town in Tukums. As is customary, the market offering will be divided into two parts: Tukums home-made goods and crafts market, where the craftsmanship and creativity of locals will truly shine, offering to buy products made in the Tukums area, as well as a Plant Market featuring roses, saplings, shrubs, perennials, summer flowers, and everything needed to create a flowering garden.

An new event in the program — the Conversation Stage, where throughout the day you can engage in “Conversations about Flowers and Gardens”. Garden owners from the Tukums area will be the main storytellers, who will share their experiences and stories about roses, peonies, and bulb flowers, as well as industry experts, who will offer practical advice on garden design and flower arranging. Among the guests will be Daila Trubiņa, owner of the rose garden “Rozītes”, Laila Leja, owner of the peony garden “Romju pojenes”; as well as iris and gladiolus producer, collector, and selectionist Laimonis Zaķis, as well as Solveiga Dzene from Brocēni, owner of “Dārzu paviljons,” and florist Agnese Lāce from Jaunpils.

Nearby, not far from the Conversation Stage, there will be an area for entertainment and educational activities “Creativity for young and old” (Radoši lieliem un maziem). The youngest visitors will get a chance to meet flower fairies from “Workshop of Smiles” (Smaidu darbnīca), while artists Ilze Cērpiņa and Madara Kukša will offer master classes for adults on creating floral motifs for festive table decorations. The day will conclude with an unusual flower-laden festive table setting.

One of the most notable and unexpected festive experiences will be the transformation of Lielā Street. Throughout the day, under the guidance of artist Kristīne Luīze Avotiņa, a large-scale artwork titled “The Garden on Lielā Street” (Lielās ielas dārzs) will be created on the street pavement, transforming one of the town’s main streets into a magnificent floral landscape. Kristīne’s style of painting is characterized by a nuanced sense of colour, a poetic aspect, and the ability to transform the everyday elements into an emotionally rich experience. Gardens and flowers often play a significant role in the artist’s work, which is why Tukums has invited her to create this year’s festival theme — an unusual flower garden that will blossom along a section of Lielā Street. The locals and visitors will be able to participate in its creation, while DJ Egons Reiters will ensure that the festivities on Lielā Street remain lively throughout the day.

Meanwhile, this year the Pauzera Meadows will host a captivating performance of one of the most spectacular and aristocratic sports — show jumping. This equestrian discipline is the most popular equestrian sport, in which the rider and horse must overcome various obstacles in a predetermined order within a set time limit. It is an exciting discipline that requires precision, harmony between the rider and the horse, and excellent physical readiness. The Equestrian Sports Club “Lejnieki” will be in charge of organising the competition.

The Tukums Museum, in collaboration with the Tukums Writers’ Union, will open a new exhibition titled “Tukums – Town of Literature” (Tukums – literatūras pilsēta) in the Castle Tower, as well as the Tukums literary trail “Even more gems” (Vēl citas pērles), allowing literature to flourish once again in the town’s stories. The exhibition will offer a glimpse into how Tukums and its residents have been portrayed in literary works by various authors — from the early days of literature to the present — ranging from Fīrekers to Ziedonis and from Birznieks-Upīts to Tālers.

Meanwhile, the Tukums Catholic Church congregation, celebrating the 130th anniversary of St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Tukums, invites visitors to explore the unique Church garden during the festivities. A café will be set up alongside a pop-up exhibition of paintings by Alberta PAULIŅA, accompanied by live music, while children will be able to participate in the creation of another large-scale street drawing, “The Garden of Eden” (Ēdenes dārzs). A special event will take place in the second half ot the day — a concert by Elīna and Vestards Šimkus “Sacred light” (Svētā gaisma).

To finish the day, the guests will be able to enjoy an evening of music in the Town Park, where artists with roots in Tukums and their guests are invited to perform.The ensemble “Atlanti” will set the mood for the evening with the rhythms of traditional Romani music, followed by Vija Ozoliņa and Jānis Kurševs, who will take the audience on a journey through Latvian cinematic tracks and the world’s most beautiful musicals. “Tommy and The Goose” and Rūdolfs Rācenājs will take listeners on a journey to early 20th century America, while Rihards Saule will pull at heartstrings with the greatest rock ballads of all time. The festivities will culminate in the “Flower Ball” (Ziedu balle) featuring Rihards Jakuško and Gunta Meņģele.

See you in Tukums!

The festivities are organised by the Tukums Town Culture Centre, Tukums Tourism Information Centre, and the equestrian club “Lejnieki”.