I'm currently waiting at the Gare de Lyon train station for the rest of the cloggers to arrive, and only have 20 minutes of free wifi.
Sooooo, without further adieu, here be a video of the cloggers in action in Jelgava from Saturday.
Thanks to Toms for uploading the video to You Tube!
More stuff to come as soon as I get a more stable connection.
Adam
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Just A Whirlwind of Activity
Sorry about the paucity of posting. We've been fairly busy for the last four days, and haven't had a lot of time to relax.
Anyways, I believe I left off from Thursday afternoon. After leaving the Ethnographic Museum (in a slightly dampened state), we made our way to Turaida for the official start of the Baltica Festival. Turaida is east of Riga in the Gaujas River valley, and happens to be some extremely pretty country--driving down to cross the river I was reminded of parts of West Virginia.
There were quite a few traditional Latvian folk clubs present, and all of them were dressed in traditional costumes. Opening ceremonies were held in a natural ampitheatre, and the singing and dancing went on for some time. Towards the end of the evening, it turned into one big social dance with a wide variety of different dances -- Latvian, Ukrainian, Estonian, Swedish, etc. We played a couple of dances. Ann called a Virginia reel which led into a gånglåt (what we call a snake in America), and then we played a waltz. A lot of the other dance traditions have a lot of dance figures in common with square dancing, so everybody was able to pick up on everything very quickly. It was a pretty impressive sight to see over 200 people out there whooping it up.
On a side note, Matt and I went up to what we thought was a beer tent, and ordered a "Kvass" -- we thought we were in hogs' heaven, as it was only 0.5 laht for a half liter. It was very sweet and malty, and we didn't think much of it, but we still had a few. It was only later that we found out that it almost borders on being considered non-alcoholic, and is more similar to root beer and is often served to children. It's basically fermented pumpernickel bread and water.
On Friday the festival was held in Riga. We marched in a parade from the town square to where the Freedom monument is located. Streets and alleys were lined with people. At the Freedom monument we performed one dance, but the PA stopped working right before we were to go on so we had to play acoustically (there were probably six hundred people in attendance). The crowd loved it, and they really show it. They almost immediately started clapping along in time, and that just pushes the energy of the dancers to these high levels when there is such a receptive audience. In fact, all of our performances in Latvia have been like this, and I'll step out on a limb and say that this is probably the most clogging-ist loving group of people that we have ever encountered.
Anyways, we had some time on Friday afternoon before our main performance, so we just hung out in the park. We got hit with another down pour, but the sun soon came out again and dried up all the rain so the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again so were soon back on track. We performed in a bandshell that had a nice wooden floor, but there was a very substantial slope to it, so most of the dances ended up quite a bit downstage from where they started. People also really packed it in for this particular show, and afterwards met us backstage to talk to us and take photos. One could get used to this star treatment.
I'll post some later, and will also throw up some more pics after they get sorted and uploaded.
Adam
Anyways, I believe I left off from Thursday afternoon. After leaving the Ethnographic Museum (in a slightly dampened state), we made our way to Turaida for the official start of the Baltica Festival. Turaida is east of Riga in the Gaujas River valley, and happens to be some extremely pretty country--driving down to cross the river I was reminded of parts of West Virginia.
There were quite a few traditional Latvian folk clubs present, and all of them were dressed in traditional costumes. Opening ceremonies were held in a natural ampitheatre, and the singing and dancing went on for some time. Towards the end of the evening, it turned into one big social dance with a wide variety of different dances -- Latvian, Ukrainian, Estonian, Swedish, etc. We played a couple of dances. Ann called a Virginia reel which led into a gånglåt (what we call a snake in America), and then we played a waltz. A lot of the other dance traditions have a lot of dance figures in common with square dancing, so everybody was able to pick up on everything very quickly. It was a pretty impressive sight to see over 200 people out there whooping it up.
On a side note, Matt and I went up to what we thought was a beer tent, and ordered a "Kvass" -- we thought we were in hogs' heaven, as it was only 0.5 laht for a half liter. It was very sweet and malty, and we didn't think much of it, but we still had a few. It was only later that we found out that it almost borders on being considered non-alcoholic, and is more similar to root beer and is often served to children. It's basically fermented pumpernickel bread and water.
On Friday the festival was held in Riga. We marched in a parade from the town square to where the Freedom monument is located. Streets and alleys were lined with people. At the Freedom monument we performed one dance, but the PA stopped working right before we were to go on so we had to play acoustically (there were probably six hundred people in attendance). The crowd loved it, and they really show it. They almost immediately started clapping along in time, and that just pushes the energy of the dancers to these high levels when there is such a receptive audience. In fact, all of our performances in Latvia have been like this, and I'll step out on a limb and say that this is probably the most clogging-ist loving group of people that we have ever encountered.
Anyways, we had some time on Friday afternoon before our main performance, so we just hung out in the park. We got hit with another down pour, but the sun soon came out again and dried up all the rain so the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again so were soon back on track. We performed in a bandshell that had a nice wooden floor, but there was a very substantial slope to it, so most of the dances ended up quite a bit downstage from where they started. People also really packed it in for this particular show, and afterwards met us backstage to talk to us and take photos. One could get used to this star treatment.
I'll post some later, and will also throw up some more pics after they get sorted and uploaded.
Adam
Friday, July 10, 2009
One Other Thing
From the Diena, Latvia's largest newspaper.
I think we're bigger than Michael Jackson (if I'm reading the Latvian correctly that is).
Adam
I think we're bigger than Michael Jackson (if I'm reading the Latvian correctly that is).
Adam
And We're Off!
The remainder of the group arrived late Wednesday afternoon. Joe, Sarah, Andy and I (aka the "Riga Four") had gone downtown for a Baltica Festival press conference (for the curious, we performed "3's Co.") and met up with everyone when we returned to the hostel. Everybody was pretty wiped out from their trip, but we soon headed back downtown for dinner.
Most of the group returned to the hostel after eating, but Matt and I stuck around in Old Riga so that I could "show him the area." We had a beer at the aforementioned Rosengrals, and we were wandering around a bit when we got caught in a sudden downpour. We had to take shelter at another pub. Any port in a storm, right? At any rate, the rain soon slackened, and we were able to catch the last trolley-bus of the night back to the hostel.
On Thursday morning, we made our way downtown to officially register with the festival. We spent a couple of hours at a crafts market held in the park where some of our performances will be, and then headed to the Ethnographic Open Air Museum (I wasn't able to find an English website for the museum). Anyway, the museum is situated in a forested area outside of Riga and is around 100 total hectares (1 hectare equals 10,000 square meters or 2.471043 US acres). Old log buildings dating from the mid-18th century are placed throughout the park, alongside of some wonderful gardens. It was a nice change of pace from the bustle that is downtown Riga.
Andy and I were about as far away from the gate that you can get when a downpour came along. We took shelter by a steam thresher from the late 19th century and were pretty dry. There was a hitch, however. We were supposed to be back on the bus by 4:20, and neither Andy or I had any kind of timepiece. We waited a bit, hoping that the rain would cease, but of course it didn't. We both thought it was getting close to the departure time, so we hiked back through the forest and soon became quite soaked. We arrived at the gate and discovered it was only 3:30, so we took shelter in the pub (I'm starting to detect a theme).
Here are a few photos:
Inside the pub as we were drying our outsides while wetting our insides, we spied this old cabinet. I kind of like the name:
That's all the time I have at the moment--I'll be sure to talk about the opening ceremonies in the next post (probably later tonight).
Adam Kiesling
Most of the group returned to the hostel after eating, but Matt and I stuck around in Old Riga so that I could "show him the area." We had a beer at the aforementioned Rosengrals, and we were wandering around a bit when we got caught in a sudden downpour. We had to take shelter at another pub. Any port in a storm, right? At any rate, the rain soon slackened, and we were able to catch the last trolley-bus of the night back to the hostel.
On Thursday morning, we made our way downtown to officially register with the festival. We spent a couple of hours at a crafts market held in the park where some of our performances will be, and then headed to the Ethnographic Open Air Museum (I wasn't able to find an English website for the museum). Anyway, the museum is situated in a forested area outside of Riga and is around 100 total hectares (1 hectare equals 10,000 square meters or 2.471043 US acres). Old log buildings dating from the mid-18th century are placed throughout the park, alongside of some wonderful gardens. It was a nice change of pace from the bustle that is downtown Riga.
Andy and I were about as far away from the gate that you can get when a downpour came along. We took shelter by a steam thresher from the late 19th century and were pretty dry. There was a hitch, however. We were supposed to be back on the bus by 4:20, and neither Andy or I had any kind of timepiece. We waited a bit, hoping that the rain would cease, but of course it didn't. We both thought it was getting close to the departure time, so we hiked back through the forest and soon became quite soaked. We arrived at the gate and discovered it was only 3:30, so we took shelter in the pub (I'm starting to detect a theme).
Here are a few photos:
Inside the pub as we were drying our outsides while wetting our insides, we spied this old cabinet. I kind of like the name:
That's all the time I have at the moment--I'll be sure to talk about the opening ceremonies in the next post (probably later tonight).
Adam Kiesling
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Getting Close
Hello
Andy, Joe, Sarah and I have been taking it fairly easy for the last couple of days. We took the train out to Jurmala on Monday and hung out at the beach for a while. Jurmala is kind of a resort town, with a lot of different restaurants and shops. We rode back to Riga and met Zanete for a beer at Rozengrals, which is situated in an old wine cellar and dates back to the late 13th century. Everything is lit by candles, and the waitstaff is garbed in period clothing as well. A great place to relax, but it took some time for the eyes to adjust after emerging from our subterranean lair.
Zanete then interviewed us about the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers and old-time music and dance, and I guess we are to be on the front page of the culture section for Friday's paper. I'll have to remember to snag a copy.
Yesterday we ended up going to a piano and cello recital at St Peter's (you can see a picture in an earlier post). Afterwards, we went to a park and played for a bit. We ended up with a pretty good crowd, and they really enjoyed watching the clogging. I think this will be a good festival.
Last night was a late one. The last vestige of daylight finally faded away around 11:30 pm or so, and the sky was just beginning to lighten up when we made our way home at 3:30 am. It's a little disconcerting.
I'll post some more pics as soon as I get them uploaded.
In other news, the rest of the group arrives this afternoon, and I imagine that things will start to get busy. I'm glad that we took to the time to arrive early; it's been great being able to take in the sights in a relaxed manner, and not have to worry about any time constraints.
And finally, for no reason whatsover, Kronos!!
Andy, Joe, Sarah and I have been taking it fairly easy for the last couple of days. We took the train out to Jurmala on Monday and hung out at the beach for a while. Jurmala is kind of a resort town, with a lot of different restaurants and shops. We rode back to Riga and met Zanete for a beer at Rozengrals, which is situated in an old wine cellar and dates back to the late 13th century. Everything is lit by candles, and the waitstaff is garbed in period clothing as well. A great place to relax, but it took some time for the eyes to adjust after emerging from our subterranean lair.
Zanete then interviewed us about the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers and old-time music and dance, and I guess we are to be on the front page of the culture section for Friday's paper. I'll have to remember to snag a copy.
Yesterday we ended up going to a piano and cello recital at St Peter's (you can see a picture in an earlier post). Afterwards, we went to a park and played for a bit. We ended up with a pretty good crowd, and they really enjoyed watching the clogging. I think this will be a good festival.
Last night was a late one. The last vestige of daylight finally faded away around 11:30 pm or so, and the sky was just beginning to lighten up when we made our way home at 3:30 am. It's a little disconcerting.
I'll post some more pics as soon as I get them uploaded.
In other news, the rest of the group arrives this afternoon, and I imagine that things will start to get busy. I'm glad that we took to the time to arrive early; it's been great being able to take in the sights in a relaxed manner, and not have to worry about any time constraints.
And finally, for no reason whatsover, Kronos!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
A Moment of Silence
Gentle readers, I am sure that you will feel as saddened as I am about the events that have transpired--we were told to remove the beer-amid from our window. Something about the corruption of the youth.....
Resquiat in pace
Resquiat in pace
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Vanguard Has Arrived
Some of us ended up heading to Riga a few days earlier than the rest of the group. Andy, Sarah, Joe and myself arrived on Saturday, July 4th around 5 pm local time and were met at the airport by our guide, Zanete (it's kind of a Latvian version of Jeanette or Janet). She was standing outside the baggage claim holding a sign with "Wild Goose Chase Cloggers" printed on it. This was the first time that I've ever been greeted in such a fashion, and I kind of expected that the paparazzi would have been alerted to our presence. I also braced myself for the inevitable onslaught of screaming teenage girls, but there was hardly anybody around, and those that were there didn't even give us a second glance. Oh well....
We got settled at the hostel where we are staying, cleaned up, unpacked and debated the merits of sleeping (we all had been up for around 36 straight hours by that point) versus heading out for a beer and a look around. Beer won. We're located right next to a train stop, so we were soon on our way to downtown Riga.
We wondered around for a bit, bought some groceries and various items, and caught a train back to the hostel. Sleep soon followed. FYI: they mow the lawn at 6:00 am here in Latvia.
We headed back to downtown this afternoon and snagged some coffee. Zanete met us at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, and we were given a tour by a guide named Edgars. The museum shows the history of the occupations of Latvia by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (Latvia finally gained her independence in 1991). A very somber place, but a great museum nonetheless with a nice collection of artifacts and photographs.
We wandered around some more, grabbed some dinner, and headed back to the hostel, whereupon I typed up this post. Following are a few of the photos that Andy and I took:
Our guide Zanete
Sunset over the Daugava River
St Peter's Church
A shot of the Freedom Monument
Another shot looking towards St Peter's
That's it for now--I think we're going to go play some tunes and work on our beer pyramid (yes friends, it's the "Beer-amid"™!!).
Adam
We got settled at the hostel where we are staying, cleaned up, unpacked and debated the merits of sleeping (we all had been up for around 36 straight hours by that point) versus heading out for a beer and a look around. Beer won. We're located right next to a train stop, so we were soon on our way to downtown Riga.
We wondered around for a bit, bought some groceries and various items, and caught a train back to the hostel. Sleep soon followed. FYI: they mow the lawn at 6:00 am here in Latvia.
We headed back to downtown this afternoon and snagged some coffee. Zanete met us at the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia, and we were given a tour by a guide named Edgars. The museum shows the history of the occupations of Latvia by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (Latvia finally gained her independence in 1991). A very somber place, but a great museum nonetheless with a nice collection of artifacts and photographs.
We wandered around some more, grabbed some dinner, and headed back to the hostel, whereupon I typed up this post. Following are a few of the photos that Andy and I took:
Our guide Zanete
Sunset over the Daugava River
St Peter's Church
A shot of the Freedom Monument
Another shot looking towards St Peter's
That's it for now--I think we're going to go play some tunes and work on our beer pyramid (yes friends, it's the "Beer-amid"™!!).
Adam
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Attack of the Limber-Geese!!!1!
They lie in wait, hoping for unsuspecting passers-by....
Actually, limber-geese are our versions of limber-jacks. We're bringing along a few to hand out as gifts, and we'll also most likely be using one during some of our performances. They add a little variety to the show.
Here are a couple videos of limber jacks in action:
(By the way, is there any question as to why it's called a violin "bow"?)
And finally, because this is the fourth result listed when searching for "limber jack" on You Tube:
Thanks
Adam
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hey There!!
Hi everyone
This is to be a blog about the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers' European tour of 2009. We'll be performing at a couple of different festivals; the International Folklore Festival "Baltica 2009" (which will be located around Riga, Latvia this year), and the Couleurs du Monde Festival near Toulon, France.
For the curious, here is some footage from the 2006 Baltica Festival. This will give you an idea of the environment in which we'll be performing:
Needless to say, we are really looking forward to it, so stay tuned as we'll be updating this blog with various photos, videos and whatnot throughout the month of July .
You can also check out our website for more info.
Adam
This is to be a blog about the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers' European tour of 2009. We'll be performing at a couple of different festivals; the International Folklore Festival "Baltica 2009" (which will be located around Riga, Latvia this year), and the Couleurs du Monde Festival near Toulon, France.
For the curious, here is some footage from the 2006 Baltica Festival. This will give you an idea of the environment in which we'll be performing:
Needless to say, we are really looking forward to it, so stay tuned as we'll be updating this blog with various photos, videos and whatnot throughout the month of July .
You can also check out our website for more info.
Adam
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