August 16, 2020
The information was prepared by Baiba Kantiņa, project coordinator of the Public Relations Department of the Riga City Council
During the Riga Festival on Saturday, August 15, the Great Picnic took place for the second time on the Mežaparks Grand Stage, during which Rigans and city guests had the opportunity to get acquainted with the completed construction works on the Mežaparks Stage and try its acoustics.
The large picnic in the 15,000 square meter area delighted every visitor with creative, musical and gastronomic activities for the whole family.
On the stage of the event, young visitors were delighted by their favorite fairy-tale characters from “Fairy House”. There was a musical meeting with the ensemble of actors of the National Theater “Greizais ratiņš” and IGO. Between the artists’ performance breaks in quizzes, we tested the knowledge of Rigans about the construction of the Mežaparks Grand Stage, as well as tested the acoustics of the new stage together. The event was hosted by Walter Krauze.
In parallel with the stage activities, creative workshops took place in the stages of the stage, large and small visitors were delighted by the tricks of the circus artist and the surprising activities of the “Fairytale House”. The Pecolli family of illusionists had taken a special surprise for the guests of the Riga Festival.
During the event, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy dishes from different countries of the world, taste traditional Latvian dishes, as well as refresh themselves with refreshing drinks and summer cocktails.
The event was organized in cooperation with the Riga City Council Property Department, PS “LNK, RERE” and the municipal company “Rīgas meži”. The event was organized by Art Management Group and was supported by the Riga City Municipality and the Education, Culture and Sports Department of the Riga City Council during the Riga Festival.
The Great Stage of Mežaparks has now acquired the form of the Silver Grove on the Hill of Songs designed by its authors architects Juris Pogas and Austra Mailītis. Branched “tree pattern” and other metal structures consisting of 1766.4 tons of metal structures. The unique construction is made of columns and trusses and extends into the sky at a height of 35.8 meters. 510 acoustic shields are installed on metal busbars. Thus, this object is recognized at the European level as a unique and complex, which has an individual acoustic solution.
It has already been reported that in accordance with the available funding and fulfillment of construction requirements to the extent that allows partial operation of the stage building, the developed construction project for Mežaparks Grand Stage reconstruction was divided into two stages: Stage 1 to provide dance festival; In the 2nd stage, envisaging full implementation of the construction project in 2023 in order to prepare in time for the XXVII General Song and XVII Dance Festival. However, during the state of emergency declared in the countries, the time of the holiday was postponed by one year and the planned construction deadlines were also changed.
The renovation of Mežaparks Grand Stage started on March 11, 2016, when Riga City Municipality and the Latvian National Cultural Center signed an agreement with the architectural offices of Juris Poga and Austra Mailitis on the development of a construction project.
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