Baltoscandal: July 3-7, Rakvere

First held in 1990, the international theater festival Baltoscandal will be held for the 30th time this year.

"I have to admit that I haven't been the most frequent attendee myself, but every time I've gone, I've seen some really great things," Liimets said. "You'll see the best of the performing arts from both Estonia and abroad here."

One festival highlight includes Belgian visual artist Miet Warlop; Liimets highlighted that even if the name doesn't ring any bells, Warlop's "One Song" was included in The New York Times' list of best performances of 2022.

"You'll also get the chance to see the exciting Finnish collective Wauhaus, which will be staging a production where only one person at a time can participate," he continued. "It's unfortunately definitely sold out by now, but things like this give you an idea of how exciting and intriguing the festival program is."

Treskifest: August 9-11, Treski, Setomaa

Liimets admitted that he typically plans his summers around music festivals going on. "Although there are quite a lot of music festivals to recommend," he highlighted. "Coming up this weekend already is Paavli Culture Factory's Birthday Festival, but my favorite festival in recent years has been Treskifest."

Major factors impacting summer festivals are location and atmosphere, and the culture critic described Treskifest as a wonderful festival with wonderful people.

"It has a music program, and an inspiration program, but I've attended precisely because of its setting," Liimets said.

"For anyone hearing the word 'Treski' for the first time, go visit Setomaa, even just to a concert sometime this summer, and go see for yourself what this Treski is all about," he recommended. "The human dynamo Jalmar Vabarna built Treski Barn and an open-air stage there that is a sight to behold in its own right."

Every festivalgoer is bound to get a bit of a cultural shock in this tiny corner of Southeastern Estonia, he added.

Hungerburg: August 14-18, Narva-Jõesuu

Organized by Tartu New Theater and bearing the Northeastern Estonian coastal resort town's historical name, Narva-Jõesuu festival Hungerburg2024 will feature theater, music and more.

"I, for one, bought [my festival] pass at one point when 100 passes were put up for sale without even knowing where you were even going," Liimets recalled. "Just that Tartu New Theater is organizing, it's taking place in Narva-Jõesuu and do you trust us?"

Noting that he believes Estonia's bigger theaters' repertoires err too heavily toward the safe, the critic said he specifically expects Estonian theater to be adventurous, to want to do something completely different – something unpredictable.

"You'll find exactly that at Hungerburg," he confirmed. "The five days will include concerts, performances and film premieres produced especially for the festival."

The inaugural festival will be held at Mereranna Sanatorium, which has long since otherwise been closed.

"A spatial and site-specific festival, the chance to go explore Narva-Jõesuu – which is a very lovely place in its own right in summer," Liimets highlighted. "I have no idea what's going to happen there, but that's precisely what's so exciting for me."

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