Day Eleven - Festival Rehearsals
Friday July 4th
Happy 4th of July! We have been caught up in so much excitement, we haven't even really had the chance to have the whole choir sing our National Anthem!
The kids arrived to the festival fair grounds today between 8:00 - 11:00, depending on when their host family had rehearsal. Those that arrived early had a chance to check out all the really cool booths set up on the grounds, with really cool souvenirs. There was a fair amount of souvenir consumption, but it didn't quite balance out the ice cream consumption!
Some form of music was heard continually around the grounds, whether or not it was the accordion orchestra, full orchestra, or the singers. The dome is unbelievable and the schedule is so well organized, they are able to move massive amounts of groups on and off that stage very quickly. Impressive.
The kids had their first of three rehearsals at 11:30. With their cleverly designed, bright t-shirts with the huge print, we were able to locate most of them amongst the sea of kids dressed in all sorts of bright colors. The sound was amazing! For most of their pieces, they are accompanied by a single violinist, and their voices just rang through the park, an experience that is hard to explain, that that is just after one rehearsal, with only the children's choirs.
After the rehearsal, we all got together, amazingly enough, and went to have lunch. They were able to feed about 20,000 people so quickly. We were all herded into this huge warehouse with rows and rows of tables. There was someone making announcements in Estonian, as all the kids waved their green meal tickets in the air, making sure they were legit to enter. We got in line, and were handed a tray with a bowl of really good soup, yogurt, and a slice of bread. To our surprise, it was quite delicious. We were in and out of there fairly quickly and then off to our next scheduled adventure.
We were off to watch a part of the Laulupidu dance rehearsal. The 2.7 mile trek from where the festival is held to where the dance rehearsal was quite an adventure. On the way there, we took 2 + 1 buses... The +1 was the bus we were suppose to be on, heading in the correct direction. We were all crammed on huge bus like sardines. Made for a crowded and very hot ride. Once we arrived, we walked a bit more to where the dances were taking place. Watching 10,000 dancers dressed in traditional Estonian dress, weaving in and out on this huge field, all synchronized, was simply amazing. They did it all so seamlessly, as if they had also practiced together for years. Unfortunately we didn't get to stay for long because we had to be back for our rehearsal. We decided to get some exercise in and walk the 2.7 miles back to our location. The kids were quite thrilled about the long walk...
We made it back, a little late, but in time for the kids to sing maybe one song with everyone. Following that brief rehearsal, they had a little time to do some more shopping and then had to be back in line to go on stage for their final rehearsal of the day.
After our final rehearsal, the kids located their ETV home stays and went home for the evening. I am sure they took advantage of some much needed rest as well as some World Cup soccer. They are quite excited for the parade tomorrow! We will keep you posted!
Click through the sideshow below to view some highlights from today:
