Over 2,000 people attended the week-long 2024 Aigu Om! festival. The festival takes its name from the Võro-language saying, which means "there is time" or "take your time" and has become a defining theme for both the festival and the music created by its founder and director, Mari Kalkun.

The most popular event during the festival was the Estonian State Forest Management Center's (RMK) Pähni Forest Day, which focused on traditional and modern aspects of forest awareness in Estonia and Japan.

Those in attendance were introduced to the traditional rituals of the Japanese hermit monk by Daizaburo Sakamoto. In a subsequent lecture, Japanologist Alari Allik then helped to open up this ancient "institution" and Japanese forest culture to a wider audience by asking "How many lives does one tree have?" Valdur Mikita then represented the most up-to-date Estonian forest thinking and formulated a unique manifesto of idling.

Two evenings during the festival featured the unique live performance entitled "Mõts/Mori/­Forest" by Mari Kalkun in collaboration with Japanese musicians Arata Inoue and cellist Kotaro Saito. The concerts were held in in the Aigu Om! barn, where audiences were treated to music inspired by both local Võrumaa heritage and the sounds of Tokyo.

The concerts also included songs from the trio's newly completed album.

"The Japanese musicians enjoyed every moment of their time here – the nature, playing together and the unique atmosphere in Võrumaa, which is so different from the noise of Tokyo.  I am really grateful that my long-time dream of bringing this project to Estonia has finally come true and that the festival has built a cultural bridge between Estonia and Japan," said festival director Mari Kalkun.

There were also a number of smaller concerts and other events, which took place during the course of the festival. Among the many highlights were a live cinema performance by Vincent Moon at the Aigu Om! barn, Japanese Taiko drumming workshops in Viitina Manor Park and the legendary traditional fishing competition in Viitina Lake.

Earlier this year, ERR News published an in-depth feature about Estonian folk musician and Aigu Om! director Mari Kalkun, proividing more insight into the spirit of her native Võrumaa. The feature can be found here.

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