Jāņi/ St. John's Day Festival
Jāņi/ St. John's Festival
The annual Jāņu/ St. John's Day Festival was held on June 26 at the Latvian Community Center in Indianapolis. This year nearly 400 people of varying nationalities including Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Scottish, Polish, Swedish and the Viking society attended the festival. Activities included culture presentations & performances, an interactive Viking Village, a bounce house, games, dancing, singing and of course eating and drinking. It was a hot day, but luckily it did not rain. Traditionally, it rains during Jāņi, especially in Latvia. As has been the tradition the past few years, there has been a tug-of-war competition between the different nationalities. This year, like the past previous years, Team Latvia won. The judges estimated the combined Latvian team members’ weight at over 1,700 pounds. Looks like the hard training during the year of drinking and eating has really paid off. This year the Latvian Youth Association of Indianapolis cooked and served the food during the festival. Singing and dancing went well past midnight. We hope everyone had a wonderful time, and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year. Click here to see a few pictures taken during the festival
What's Related