Travelogue (7)—Latvian Song and Dance Festival

In 2013, I visited Riga for the Latvian Song and Dance Festival and became a big fan of this event. Every five years, Latvians all over the world come together for a weeklong celebration of their beloved folksongs and dances. The festival also embodies a spirit of solidarity among a people who survived a tumultuous and tragic history of foreign occupation.

 

My late father and his sister were Latvian WWII refugees who emigrated to California and Ontario, respectively. I never learned the Latvian language and am left to wonder what it would have been like to attend the festival with them, to benefit from their insights and translation. The Canadian version of the Latvian Song and Dance Festival is closer to home, so I made plans to attend.

My husband and I started our road trip to Toronto on July 4, making stops in Western New York on the way up and back. We had great accommodations, dining experiences, and sightseeing adventures. First stop, Keuka Lake. We stayed the night in this Airbnb cottage, clean and comfortable with beautiful surroundings. Our host was friendly and helpful.

 

Highlights: walks along the wooded lake’s edge, a visit to historic and beautiful Garrett Memorial Chapel, the best ice cream in New York at Seneca Farms in Penn Yan, and a perfect view of Independence Day fireworks all around the lake’s edge.

Garrett Memorial Chapel

 

Midday on the 5th, we left Keuka Lake and stopped in Naples, NY, for lunch at the Old School Café. Had a delicious meal, sitting outside under the trees with good shade from the hot day.

Then we hopped in the car for Toronto. Not much delay at the U.S./Canada border (Peace Bridge). On the Canada side, we zipped along for a while before the traffic on the QEW got horrendous. The last 50 miles to Toronto took forever. Friday rush hour? Or is it always like that? We got to our hotel at about 7 p.m. Hotel X.

A good choice. We explored two rooftop lounges with great views of the city and had a scrumptious dinner at the hotel restaurant, Roses Social. Our large, comfortable room presented only one challenge—how to work those strangely unique light switches? Took us a while to figure them out. The best feature was the high-impact water pressure in the shower.

Saturday, July 6, was a busy day. In the morning, I took Johanna Bergfelt’s contemporary dance class at the National Ballet of Canada. I’d “known” Johanna virtually for nearly four years, taking her online classes at home, so it was a delight to meet her in person and to dance her wonderful choreography in a huge studio.

Next, hubby and I had brunch at Fox on John. We bypassed the outdoor seating only because a flash rainstorm hit. Inside, we had mimosas, omelets, and fixings while watching a Euro 2024 soccer match between England and Switzerland. A lot of energy in the room!

Then, on to the Latvian Mass Choir Concert at Roy Thomson Hall.  The President of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, gave opening remarks. The stage was filled to capacity with singers, overflowing into the upper audience boxes on either side (this photo doesn’t quite capture all the singers on the sides). About 700 or 800, everyone in national costume. They performed dozens of folksongs in beautiful harmony, each with its own conductor.

 

My videos of the songs didn’t turn out so great, so here are links to a few good ones posted on YouTube by other attendees:  Lec Saulīte (Sun Rises) and Saule Pērkons Daugava (Sun, Thunder, Daugava [River]).

The concert ended with Pūt Vējiņi (Blow Winds), the song that closes every festival, with the audience singing and swaying along. Here is a video of Pūt Vējiņi at the 2023 Riga concert (40,000 singers in a huge amphitheater!)

Sunday morning the 7th we took the ferry to Toronto Islands, getting this view of the city skyline on the way there. A low flying airplane went directly overhead, coming in for a landing at the nearby Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

 

The several small islands are connected, making a large park with plenty of trees and white sand beaches on Lake Ontario. We started out on the westernmost island and walked for about an hour to the center island, where we caught the ferry back.

About halfway through our walk, a loud din caught our attention across an inlet to a small interior island. Hundreds of birds were circling or perched on denuded trees, squawking like crazy. Think Hitchcock’s The Birds. A man who had docked his boat nearby told us that the cormorant population is out-of-control, damaging the trees and environment. We were lucky the wind was blowing away from us, he said, because the noxious odor of their guano is overpowering.

Back in town, we found a great place for lunch a few blocks from the venue where the next festival event was to be held. We had delicious burgers and cold beer sitting in this outdoor patio at Pogue Mahone Pub & Kitchen.

Then it was on to the Latvian Folk Dance Spectacle at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, home of the Maple Leafs ice hockey team! No ice that day. 800 dancers of all ages filled the entire arena with joy and spirit, making intricate patterns with their dances. I made a short video from a few clips of different dances you can see here (Instagram).

Here’s a fuller recap on YouTube. At :45 seconds in, you will see a song near the end of the concert called Daugav’ Abas Malas (Both Sides of the Daugava River), where we all crossed our arms and held hands and sang along. (I’m in that audience somewhere!) Some of the lyrics translate as: “One language, one soul, one land that is ours.” And here is a video of the dance finale.

My favorite dance was by a group that won first place in the new choreography contest. I got most of it on my iPhone and posted it here, on YouTube. Really beautiful and fun!

The performance ended at about 6:30 p.m. and we headed back to New York. Again, the traffic was bad. The Google maps lady sent us to the Lewiston crossing, claimed to be “the best possible route.” We waited in line almost an hour before a customs agent waved us through. On the U.S. side, the highway is a lot prettier than the highway we took going north, through Buffalo.

We didn’t get to our hotel until about 11 p.m., a really nice place, the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel in Jamestown. It was built five years ago, everything spiffy clean and comfy.

In the morning, we visited with friends who took us on a tour of the Chautauqua Institution, a 750-acre community on Chautauqua Lake that hosts summer residence programs in music, dance, theater, and fine arts, among others, and holds events open to the public year round. You may recall that this is where author Salman Rushdie was attacked in 2022. After that, security was tightened and we needed a grounds access pass. There are many beautiful privately owned homes that can be rented, a historic hotel, studios, theaters, and so much more.

Of most interest to me would be to take the dance classes taught by visiting teachers, or to watch performances by notable dance companies. Alas, that will have to be another visit! We were tuckered out from all the excitement and long drive, so made our way back home.

Thanks for riding along! In other news, pick up my award-winning collection Your Pick: Selected Stories during my summer sale. A mere 99 cents in e-book for another week!

 

2020: Positivity and Perfect Vision

Perfect Vision

In 1989, the lure of big cash, fame, and glory, inspired me to write my first novel. The “Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award” called for unpublished works of fiction on the theme of creative and positive solutions to global problems. Set in 2020, with an oh-so original title, Perfect Vision was to be my stunning debut novel, featuring a cast of fascinating, prescient characters who creatively avert a future dystopia. I gave it a happy ending. Sadly, however, Ted Turner passed on this masterpiece, cliches and all. The trash can wasn’t so picky.

Accentuate the Positive

Now, as we say goodbye to the actual 2020, I’m giving the final page a happy ending. “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative,” Bing would sing. I hope you’ve been cheered by at least a few positives this year. Here are mine.

The year started out great with the January launch of Seven Shadows and two sets of Dana Hargrove Doubles on Kindle Unlimited: Thursday’s List & Homicide Chart and Forsaken Oath & Deep Zero.

My writing brain took a while to refocus, but now I’m well into a draft of the sixth, and final, Dana Hargrove novel. Title to be announced! I’m also working on a new story collection.

In February, before the pandemic hit, we had a fantastic road trip through Southern states. Click on my travelogue for all the highlights: routes, sights, events, food, and more.

Social Distancing = More Socializing

Say what? This year has seen more frequent socializing—but of a different kind—with neighbors, friends, and family.

Used to be that the only breathing creatures out for a walk on our quiet cul-de-sac were the deer and squirrels. That changed with homeschooling and work at home. Now everybody needs to get out for a little fresh air and a walk. We’ve had many socially distanced conversations with our wonderful neighbors, and during the warm months, even had a few happy hour gatherings in the turnaround at the end of our cul-de-sac.

Speaking of walks, we are blessed with many beautiful nature trails in the area, and it’s been nice to see more families out together walking. One day, I was surprised to hear a lone saxophone player in the woods. Click here to go to my Instagram post to hear the beautiful sound.

We’re all Zooming, of course, and this has meant more interaction on screen with my children, siblings, and other family members who do not live nearby (why didn’t we always do this?) My longstanding book group of close friends, the Lit Chicks, have had more meetings online than ever before, and I found a new online book group full of smart, insightful fiction lovers, Books and Bars. Great books and intelligent conversation!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Virtual dance classes at home make it easier to get to class! Kevin installed a beautiful wood floor in our sunroom this spring, giving ample space to take class and teach class.

Wasn’t so easy, figuring out camera angle, sound, and virtual teaching techniques, mirroring and saying “left” when I’m on my right. A fun challenge. The sides of my brain may be permanently switched. To my dedicated group of adult dancers at Scarsdale Ballet Studio: thank you! It’s been wonderful teaching you ballet and jazz and watching you dance on my screen.

Not having to deal with driving or riding the train long distances has made it easier to take classes I would not otherwise get to. Big thanks to all the wonderful ballet and contemporary dance artists whose classes I’ve taken this year: Christian Claessens, Igal Perry, Nina Goldman, Tanner Schwartz, David Fernandez, Tobin Eason, Noriko Hara, Kate Loh, Nancy Bielski, Teresa Perez Ceccon, Diane McCarthy, Laurie DeVito, Jana Hicks, Tyrone Monroe, and Johanna Bergfelt.

And so ends another year, with great things to look forward to in 2021. I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family. Yesterday, December 30, Kevin and I celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary.

Here’s wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year full of laughter, dance, fiction, and fun.

A Special Experience: Expressing a Caregiving Story

V.S. Kemanis in “Embrace, Give, Heal,” photo credit Nick Bonitatibus.

I was honored to be invited to participate in a program of the CareGivers’ Project, “In Time & Space.”

The Mission of the CareGivers’ Project is to create a place to express and reflect on the complexities of being a caregiver for an elder and provide resources, support and benefits to the health of caregivers.”

V.S. Kemanis in “Embrace, Give, Heal,” photo credit Eric Bandiero

In keeping with its mission, the CareGivers’ Project has spearheaded a number of valuable community-based programs and unique approaches to expressing and reflecting on the conflicts and rewards of being a caregiver. In Time & Space takes the groundbreaking approach of exploring caregiving stories and involving the community through the medium of dance. My solo dance depicted my experience as a sandwich-generation caregiver, suddenly called to care for an ailing parent at a time when my children were very young.

Last weekend, we had our premiere performance at Judson Memorial Church in Manhattan, with audience participation and talkback.

Talkback at Judson Memorial Church, November 3, 2018, photo credit Nick Bonitatibus

Teresa Perez Cecco, photo credit Irina Leoni

 

The project was fortunate to have the talents of choreographer/artistic director Teresa Perez Ceccon. Working with her on my piece was a dream come true!

 

Jomarie Zeleznik in “Cry Me a River,” photo credit Eric Bandiero

 

 

 

Other beautiful performances by dancer-caregivers last weekend were Dr. Jomarie Zeleznik, the executive director of the CareGivers’ Project, dancing “Cry Me a River”. . .

and nationally recognized speaker and educator Rochelle Rice, dancing “Bob and Eileen,” a hospice caregiving story.

Rochelle Rice in “Bob and Eileen,” photo credit Nick Bonitatibus

 

And we are just getting started! A film documentary is in the works, encompassing the process of creation, performance, community involvement, audience participation, and sharing of caregiving stories.

You can join us in our exploration of reflecting individual experience and expressing the caregiving journey through dance by giving a tax-deductible contribution, small or large, to the CareGivers’ Project. Any and all help is much appreciated. CLICK HERE TO PARTICIPATE!

Photo credit Eric Bandiero

 

Goodbye for now! Hope to see you at our next performance!

Farewell 2017! A page from my personal journal

Farewell 2017! From the personal journal, it’s a fond farewell. On December 30, 2017, my beloved husband Kevin and I celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary. This year has been as rich and loving as always, and I’m thankful for the many warm and wonderful times together and with our daughters, other family members, and close friends.

In my legal mystery novels, protagonist Dana Hargrove juggles the demands of a high-powered professional career with her personal and family life. She has a loving husband, Evan, to support her. Evan and Dana are nothing like Kevin and I except for one thing: We are a team, giving each other space to pursue our personal interests. For this I am very grateful. I would not be able to accomplish my artistic goals without Kevin.

These are my professional and artistic highlights for 2017:

Publishing my fourth story collection, Love and Crime: Stories, to starred reviews by Foreword  and BlueInk.

 

Interviews with exceptional authors Eowyn Ivey  and William Burton McCormick on VBlog.

 

Getting on stage again after a break of many years, performing the stellar choreography of Katiti King and making many new dance friends along the way.

 

Many hours of joyful dance with my favorite teachers at Gibney Dance and Steps NYC, including Diane McCarthy, Laurie DeVito, Katiti King, Max Stone, Teresa Perez Ceccon, and Bethany Perry.

 

 

An amazing master class with Lynn Simonson, the creator of the Simonson Technique.

 

A wonderful sendoff by my coworkers and friends at the Appellate Division upon my retirement from my fulltime legal career.

 

Thank you to editor Janet Hutchings of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine for posting my humorous account of my (now former!) commuter life, Rock ‘n Rail, on Something Is Going to Happen.

 

 

A lot of fun working on a video of my work with talented filmmaker Blake Horn. Stay tuned! The video will be posted soon to Amazon and Goodreads.

Putting the finishing touches on my fourth Dana Hargrove novel, Deep Zero, to be released on January 25, 2018!

 

I wish you a happy, healthy, artistic 2018!

Love from V.

Highlights: 2016

Dear readers, writers, editors, bloggers, friends, and dancers:

As the year comes to a close, regardless of what may have challenged, frustrated, or saddened us, we can be thankful for these enduring gifts we all share: imagination and creativity. The creation and enjoyment of art in any form enlightens and delights us, sustains and enriches us. I am blessed to have had another fulfilling year in my two favorite art forms, fiction and dance.

The highlights include the publication of my new Dana Hargrove novel, Forsaken Oath, and interviews about my work with bloggers Jeff Kivela of Buttonholed Books, Marika from Mystery Sequels, and mystery writer/playwright Nina Mansfield.VSKPaperbacks - Copy

 

My story “Journal Entry, Franklin DeWitt” (combining my love of dance and mystery!), was published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, …Journal Entry, Franklin DeWitt Aug 2016

and a story on the lighter side, “Ballet, Law, and Mystery,” was posted on EQMM’s blog Something is Going to Happen.

 

There were many interesting and enlightening events with my fellow mystery writers. To name a few:  The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine’s 75th Anniversary Symposium, and MWA-NY’s Holiday Revels with Reed Farrel Coleman

I danced injury-free all year and enjoyed many wonderful classes with my favorite teachers at Gibney Dance, including (especially!) Diane’s four hour holiday class! dianes-class-12-22-16In 2017, I look forward to completing another short fiction collection and the fourth Dana Hargrove novel!

I wish everyone a healthy, happy 2017, with many creative, inspiring moments.

V.