A Rucava Afternoon

The Rucava Traditions Club and the Latvian Folklore Archives of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (UL ILFA) invite you to A Rucava Afternoon. On January 26, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., tradition bearers, researchers, and interested visitors will gather in the Friends’ Room of the National Library of Latvia.

The event will open with a lecture by folklorist Dr. philol. h. c. Māra Vīksna on Rucava intangible heritage (the Regional Folklore volumes she compiled were published in 2019 and 2022). The afternoon will continue with the book launch of Stories of Rucava Women. Linguist Dr. philol. Daiga Straupeniece will give a short talk entitled “The Representation of the Contemporary Rucava Dialect in Stories of Rucava Women.” The new publication introduces the constant vitality of Rucava’s cultural space—festivities, rites of passage, handicrafts, foodways, humor, singing traditions, and more. In attendance will be not only the book’s authors Māra, Dace, and Inga Tapiņa, but also other residents of Rucava, who will enrich the event with stories and music-making.

A Rucava Afternoon is organized within the budget subprogramme 05.04.00 “The Cabinet of Folksongs of Krišjānis Barons” of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia. Preparation of the book Stories of Rucava Women was supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation under the target programme “Development Programme of Latvia’s Historical Lands,” within the project competition “Kurzeme Cultural Programme 2023.”