Lonnie Cline leads a combined choir of over 100 singers from Clackamas Community College Chamber Choir, Unistus Chamber Choir, members of Estonian mixed choirs from the West Coast and from Ontario, Canada, along with members from the Portland Symphonic Choir, Oregon Repertory Singers, Bach Cantata Choir, and the Oregon City High School Singers, together with a 32 member orchestra, in this concert to be remembered.

The opening ceremony commences with a regal, narrated procession of West Coast Estonian Festival Emblems from 1953 through the current festival.

Continue reading A Concert of Estonian Music

The LEP 2011 Rahvapidu (Folk Picnic) will be held at the majestic evergreen setting of Alderbrook Park. Thursday, August 4^th 2011 from 2 – 8 pm. The park is located 45 minutes from Portland in Brush Prairie WA.

Come spend a fun filled day at Alderbrook. The park offers pool with changing rooms, pedal boats on the lake, miniature golf, horseshoes, Volleyball, Dunk Tank, and nature trail.

Bus tickets can be purchased in advance for transportation to the picnic. Busses will leave between 12 noon – 1 pm. Bus tickets must be purchased in advance.

Bring cash to the picnic to purchase beer or wine. Included hot dog snack after 2 pm. Included BBQ Dinner served between 4:30-6:30.  Busses will start returning to the hotel at 8:15 pm.

Our choral and folk dance program is presented through the narration of “Tuljak”, Estonia’s most famous song and dance. Singers, dancers, musicians, and children from Estonia, Canada, and the West Coast join together in a musical interpretation of this much-loved wedding story. Our own “Viruvanem” and his lovely wife invite us to gather in the village square. There, we meet the young couple Tõnni and Manni, and join in celebrating their marriage. Audience participation is encouraged with several sing-a-longs and a community waltz. A musical extravaganza!

Participating in this grand production is a cast of over 250 performers! Kihnu Poisid, Ahto Nurk and Virve Lääne, Kajakas folk dance troupe from Pärnu, Unistus choir, Clackamas Community College Chamber Choir, Trillium Voices Ensemble, Kungla folk dance troupe from Toronto, The Toronto choir, the Hamilton choir, Kilplased folk dance troupe from Vancouver BC, Keerutajad folk dance troupe from Vancouver BC, the Vancouver BC choir, Leelo women’s ensemble, Tuhandest Tuultest folk dance troupe from Seattle, the Seattle choir, the San Francisco choir, Tulehoidjad folk dance troupe from Portland, the Portland choir, and the childrens choir and folk dance troupe from the West Coast.

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Kungla:

“Why is there no more dance group in Toronto?” That question was asked by many people, and because of that, some former dancers and board members got together in the fall of 2009 and we asked the same question. Why is there no more dance group in Toronto? And with that, we started talking about how to get a dance group in Toronto again. Was there even enough interest amongst kids and their parents to start up a children’s group again?
In January 2010 practices began again. The children’s group practiced on Saturdays after Lasteaed and brownie and cub meetings, and the older group practiced on Wednesdays in the Great Hall at the Estonian House. In total, we had over sixty dancers. Seems that there are people interested in dancing in Toronto after all!

The out-door worship service will be held at “The Grotto” (www.thegrotto.org), a beautiful and serene destination on the “must visit list” in Portland. Large fir trees and rhododendrons surround the sanctury and provide a calm, natural setting. The heart of the shrine is a rock cave carved into the 110 foot rock cliff. Bishop Andres Taul, from Toronto, Ontario, and Pastor Hendrik Laur, from Olympia, Washington, will conduct the worship service beginning at 9:00 o’clock on Saturday morning.

The 150 member LEP2011 choir, consisting of Unistus, Clackamas Community College Chamber Choirs, members of Estonian mixed choirs from the West Coast and from Ontario, Canada, will perform during the service. The combined choirs will perform “Tee silmapiirile”, by Rene Eespere, “Taaveti laul”, by Cyrillus Kreek, “Hoia, Jumal, Eestit”, by Juhan Aavik, “Eestimaa Palve”, by Elle-Eha Are, and “Heliseb väljadel”, by Urmas Sisask.

Join us, for a beautiful religious and musical experience, as we celebrate our faith in Christ on this wonderful summer morning!

The LEP golf outing will be at the Heron Lakes Golf Course (greenback course) www.heronlakesgolf.com which is 10 minutes from the Doubletree Hotel on Saturday August 6th first tee-off 8:00 am. For those who require transportation to and from the golf course rides will be provided at 7:00 am. There will be a barbecue lunch starting at 1:00 pm. The cost of the outing is $85.00 per person which includes green fees, the lunch and prizes. Additional optional costs to be paid by individuals at the day of the tournament are a) Carts $26.00 or $13.00 shared, b) Rental Clubs $25.00 a set and c) Driving range balls $3.50 a basket. The cutoff date for signing up for the tournament is July 15th on a first come basis. There is a maximum of 24 golfers.

During LEP members of Estonian academic organizations meet for lunch. We will get acquinted with our academic family and activities in Estonia as well as on the West Coast. We will discuss the role of academic organizations in the society 20 years after regaining independence. High school and university students are welcome. Members please wear your colors.

Saturday evening enjoy cocktail hour in the foyer as you wait with anticipation for the ballroom doors to open. Once inside, let the celebration begin! Savor a three-course dinner expertly prepared from such local Pacific Northwest ingredients as tribal caught wild salmon. Immerse yourself in the melodies of bands from Estonia and Portland and be drawn onto the dance floor by their irresistible rhythms.