Weekend Roundup: New Seto Leader Chosen, Other Regional Events Delight Public
It was a weekend of speciality and regional festivals across the country.
The Seto people in the southeast elected their leader in a pageantry-filled Seto Kingdom Day, held for the 20th time on Saturday in Mikitamäe.
Although representing a cross-section of Seto society, which is under 10,000 and straddles the border region with Russia in the southeast, the leader's seat has not often gone to a woman.
This year it was Annela Laaneots, a young professional and media figure, who won the honor of being the Seto ülemsootska, which is sometimes translated as king and sometimes as the Seto god Peko's earthly representative.
Annela Laaneots, 35, is editor in chief of the public relations magazine Kaja, which is produced by the Institute of Communication at Tallinn University.
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"Cafe Day" in the Seto region is August 16, but on Saturday, it was Hiiumaa Island's turn for several dozen homeowners in Kärdla to open their doors and backyards and serve coffee and pastries for one day only.
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In Lääne and Ida-Viru County, it was draft horse day, celebrating one of three native Estonian horse breeds (the others are the Estonian horse and the Tori horse).
There are currently 350 draft horses and it's considered an endangered breed.
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The Intsikurmu Music Festival, a small, startup version of the Latvian Positivus music festival in July, took place at the Instikurmu park and song bowl in Põlva over the long weekend. It drew more than 20 acts in the two-day concert, which took place Friday and Saturday nights.
Several hundred festival goers watched acts such as Estonia's Hot Cosmos Blues Band and Latvia's Instrumenti. The festival is in its second year.