Gallery: Station Narva festival draws attendance of nearly 4,500
Held September 5-8, the seventh music and city festival Station Narva in Northeastern Estonia attracted 4,482 visits over four days.
Last year, Station Narva attendance broke the 4,000 mark with 4,032 visits, up from 2,222 in 2022. This year's total attendance topped the 2023 festival's by 450.
Helen Sildna, founder and director of Station Narva, was delighted to see that over seven years' time, the city and people of Narva have really embraced the annual festival.
"Local musicians, artists, hotels, caterers, service providers, co-organizers, volunteers and the city's welcoming residents all contribute to the success of the festival," she acknowledged. "A youth lab team also contributed to the organization, and we achieved a recent years' record in ticket sales. This gives us faith that Station Narva has a future."
This year's Station Narva kicked off at Narva Castle's Rondeel Gallery with the public BAZAR discussion "I Feel (Un)Safe," which focused on the importance of safe harbors, both globally and at the local community and individual levels.
Highlights of the festival included free city stage concerts including Puuluup and NOEP at the Western Yard at Narva Castle and Alika and the Narva Estonian High School Band (NERG) band in the school courtyard, as well as the traditional Narva-style breakfast at the VitaTiim informal learning center.
Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova, director of the festival's music program-hosting Narva Museum, said that Station Narva brings a European metropolitan atmosphere to the border city.
"Station Narva is always more than just a brilliant event of the music world and a festival showcasing celebrities, although that's no doubt important," Smorževskihh-Smirnova said. "Station Narva is an entire universe – it's filled with tons of positive emotions and gives Narva residents and visitors a great opportunity to build bridges where it seems impossible to do so. Station Narva brings a creative, intellectual and cultural environment to the border city – the kind that European cities thrive in."
This year's festival lineup included performances at the historic Narva Castle and Art Club Ro-Ro by English space rock legends Spiritualized and grime pioneer Flowdan, Ukrainian folktronica band Go_A as well as Estonia's own Singer Vinger, playing their first ever gig in Narva.
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Editor: Neit-Eerik Nestor, Aili Vahtla