Latvia celebrates the Song and Dance Festival every 5 years. On an alternating schedule, the Youth Song and Dance Festival occurs. This year, the youth festival occurs from July 6th-12th and will include 37,000 student performers.

Song and dance are a major part of the tradition in Latvia. Some even claim is it safe to say every Latvian has been in a choir at one point or another in their life.

The Youth Song and Dance Festival began in 1960 with over 9,000 young performers. By 2010, the Youth Song and Dance Festival had 31,000 student participants. In 2003, UNESCO declared songs and dances of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania “a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.”

Please enjoy some pieces of Festival-related art from our archives below.

By Olivia Pritchard