This time the story will not be about a journey, but a story about a story about a journey. Last Thursday evening we went to the restaurant Annas Dārzs for a meeting with two young people who, over the course of 8 months, completed a roughly 5,500 km hike from the Polish city of Ustka to Lisbon in Portugal.
The impulse to write about Čaks' "Those Touched by Eternity" came from the exhibition at the Riga Art Space, where unfortunately only one small room is devoted to this theme. Though in my opinion one could fill an entire exhibition hall with talk of Čaks' work. From my school days (I am a child of the Awakening) the poem that stands out most vividly in my memory is the one Čaks wrote - The Sermon at Piņķi Church.
This Sunday we spent an hour and a half exploring the work of 56 French artists. In total, 78 works are on display - paintings, photographs, installations, video and audio art objects. The works were created between 1992 and the present day. Some are especially striking.
Joann Sfar, cartoonist for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo (which suffered terrorist attacks in 2011 and 2015 over a cartoon it published depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad), published a series of drawings with texts on Instagram on Friday night, expressing his view of the terrorist attack. Here are quotes from his cartoons.
The agenda for these informational events is always the same: an introduction to the organisation's givers gain philosophy, information about the experience and statistics of other BNI groups around the world, exchange of business cards by all present, a 30-second presentation by each attendee, benefits and investments, as well as breakfast and networking.
On 18 November from 18:00, residents are invited to jointly light up the central streets of the neighbourhoods with candles - Tilta iela and Čiekurkalna 2. līnija - creating a light promenade along their full length. Residents are invited to bring homemade candleholders with a wish attached, creating a festive sense of community. During the festive week - from 16 November - we invite you to decorate your home windows and take part in a competition: photograph your creation and share it on social media using the hashtags #gaismasziņa and #sarkandaugava or #čiekurkalns. The authors of the most patriotic decoration will receive a prize from the Aldaris Beer Museum. On 19 November at 20:00 in the Aldaris Beer Museum hall, a festive concert will take place featuring The Coco'Nuts and Future Folk Orchestra. At 21:00 the Aldaris Beer Museum will award the authors of the most patriotic light installations. Admission to the concert is free.
Since my office is near the Domina shopping centre, I often pop into the shops there in the evenings. A month ago a new little shop opened there with a rather eye-catching and cosy interior and interesting locally produced goods - Lauku Bauda (meat products made in Latvia). We walked past for a while before finally deciding to go in and treat ourselves to something tastier for Friday evening. The selection looked so appetising that we ended up leaving with a fairly substantial shopping bag. The friendly, relaxed service was a pleasant surprise, and later at home over dinner the quality of the products confirmed the first impression. Honestly, until now I've only encountered this level of service and meat product quality at the Sky shop in Sky&More shopping centre. It's a pleasure to see such lovely places opening in Riga. I recommend stopping by!
This story for me began in early childhood, when we drove to Riga in father's Zhiguli along the so-called Ostrova highway. When Mum said the turn to Rēzekne was coming up, I would eagerly search the left roadside for a glimpse of the brightly painted sculpture - the fox and the crane. A fair amount of time has passed. The Soviet era can now be read about like a fairy tale with a moral. This autumn we decided to track down this sculpture.
Today I spent half a day at the Expo Biznesam 2015 business solutions and contacts fair, held at the Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija. There were stands from companies across various industries, two halls where parallel 30-minute seminars took place, and a private consultation room. But the greatest visitor interest and participation was drawn by two other activities in particular: the contacts wall and speed contacts.
In preparation for the winter season and planning further work in the neighbourhood - with hopes of submitting some ideas to the municipality within next year's budget and more - we invite you to the Sarkandaugava neighbourhood residents' forum, taking place this year on 31 October, Saturday, at BJC Laimīte's main hall, Sarkandaugavas iela 24.