Zvārgulis Festival 2026 will take place
On 3 October 2026, the Zvārgulis Festival will take place at the Mala art space in Cēsis, celebrating the 160th anniversary of the birth of Latvian poet Edvards Treimanis-Zvārgulis. The festival will bring together literary scholarship, discussions, contemporary poetry, music, and performances. The event is supported by the State Research Programme project “Latvian Literature as Belonging: Personalities, Poetics, and the Public Sphere” (LITBEL).
Edvards Treimanis-Zvārgulis (1866–1951) waulis's literary work and its place in the history of Latvian literature.
Eva Eglāja-Kristsone, Director of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA) and Principal Investigator of LITBEL, will moderate the discussion “The Living Zvārgulis” (Dzīvais Zvārgulis), featuring Einārs, Atis, and Oskars Treimanis. The discussion will focus on the poet's life, family memories, and the preservation of his literary legacy.
The artistic programme will feature poetry readings by Māra Ulme, Amanda Kaufmane, Edvards Kuks, Valters Liberts, and Normunds Bolužs. The festival will also include “Epigram Duel” (Epigrammu duelis), performed by Gusts Ābele and Artis Jančevskis, as well as musical performances by Ilze Grunte, Andris Grunte, Ieva Akuratere, and Zane Šmite's music group. The programme will be complemented by the Fenomenālais DJ duo, Krista Kaufmane and Gerda Roze Medne, representing the contemporary poetry event series Dzejas pusnakts (Poetry Midnight).
The festival contributes to the research objectives of LITBEL, particularly its first work package, “Literary Personalities and the Narratives of Belonging”, which examines how writers' biographies, literary works, and commemorative practices shape cultural memory and belonging. By bringing together scholarly presentations, family memories, and contemporary artistic interpretations, the event will connect literary research with public engagement and encourage new perspectives on Latvian literary heritage.
The festival is organised by the Villa Leukadia Association in cooperation with the DzP Association, the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia, and the Eduards Veidenbaums Museum “Kalāči”. It is supported by the Cēsis Municipality Culture Department and the LITBEL project.
Admission is free.
Read more about the festival in Diena (in Latvian).
The event is supported by the State Research Programme project “Latvian Literature as Belonging: Personalities, Poetics, and the Public Sphere” (LITBEL, No. VPP-IZM-Letonika-2025/1-0006), funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia under the programme “Letonika for the Development of a Latvian and European Society”.