Trüki    E-post            OTTAWA – Well, Seedrioru 2008 Suvehari is now just another pleasant memory and the dog days of summer are upon us. The older I get, the faster the summer seems to fly by after Jaanipäev and all too soon the leaves start turning colour.

I had to really think long about how I would write about this year’s event. After all, what can you say about something that is consistently up to a very high standard? This year was no exception.

The huge tent and ingenious foot-operated handwashing station by the relief booths were just part of the indication of thought that the Seedrioru crew had put into planning and organizing what for many of us, over the years, has become the highlight of the summer. Thank you Seedrioru people for yet another job well done and for looking after Seedrioru so well!

Despite the awful weather forecasts that probably kept many people away, attendance was good, although, sadly, I noticed that several of my parents’ friends were no longer able to make it there. On the bright side, as well as old friends and new acquaintances, I got to talk to many interesting people from Estonia and even from different European countries as well.

It has also been some time since Estonian Life’s Ottawa correspondent met Toronto’s there. Toronto was kept quite busy running up to sing in the choir and then quickly rejoining the orchestra to add appropriate “oompahs” to the music on his tuba. Hence Ottawa was only able to talk with Toronto for a short time, but the shared conversation after responsibilities were over, made up for any shortcomings. Suvihari, after all.

The aforementioned tent provided insurance against the rain which was expected but never really seemed to interrupt any of the performances. Even the infrequent downpours seemed to be scheduled for the right time.

The drive from Ottawa is a long and tiring one. Thus I went to bed early, and don’t know what happened after 10:00 pm. For news about that you may have to turn to the Estonian language pages to read what energetic Eesti Elu reporter Eerik Purje – who has more stamina than I – had to say.