This year, Riga is celebrating its 825th anniversary in style, and everyone is invited to attend the wide range of festive events. This week, on 8 August, the Municipality invites you to the Right Bank Festival in Grīziņkalns, to the musical events in Vērmane Garden, Dzegužkalns Park and Ziemeļblāzma Palace Park, and also presents the theatre performance “Rebellious Riga” in Dome Square.
The Right Bank Festival in Grīziņkalns, on 8 August from 12:00 to 22:00, invites visitors to enjoy a varied cultural programme throughout the day, blending music, contemporary art, the history of the neighbourhood and stories from the local community. The festival will feature concerts, performances, a dance show, guided tours, creative workshops and activities for families, unveiling Grīziņkalns and Riga as an open and diverse city.
The small stage will host an educational and participatory programme throughout the day. Discussions on current issues are due to take place with representatives of neighbourhood associations in central Riga, urban planning experts and representatives of the relevant authorities.
Visitors will be treated to the “Great Grīziņkalns Quiz”, in which teams of up to five people – whether families or groups of friends – are invited to take part. You can register on the day of the event with the Small Stage coordinator. You will have the chance to see the Ģertrūdes Street Theatre’s performance “That’s All We Can Do”, enjoy poetry readings that will reveal the poets’ perspectives on Riga today and in the distant past, and everyone will be invited to share stories about the Grīziņkalns neighbourhood.
On the main stage, visitors will be treated to performances by Riga’s amateur groups, the BikiDZIESMU concert for young and old alike, traditional dances from Latgale performed by the folklore group “Grodi”, and a concert by Matīss Žilinskis’ jazz trio. There will be an opportunity to see a performance by the illusionist Edžus, as well as to enjoy a concert by the young actors from Dailes Theatre. In the evening, the stage will be brought to life by the bands “YŪT”, “JUUK” and “Turaidas roze”, as well as the brass band “Horizonts”.
The National Theatre’s performance “Rebellious Riga”
On 7 August at 20.00 and on 8 August at 15.00, in Dome Square, visitors will have the chance to see the Latvian National Theatre’s performance of “Rebellious Riga” – a musical for the whole family, inspired by Rutku tēvs. The story is set in the spring of 1582, when Calendar Riots broke out in Riga, as the city’s inhabitants had their own views on the system established in Europe. In a light-hearted, song-and-dance style, the director invites us to explore the distinctive features of the national character, both then and now.
The cast features beloved actors such as Raimonds Celms, Madara Botmane and Ieva Aniņa, Edgars Kaupers, Emīls Kaupers, Egils Melbārdis, Līga Zeļģe, Ainārs Ančevskis, Elizabete Lielmane or Elza Rūta Jordāne, Mārtiņš Brūveris, Matīss Kučinskis, Mārcis Maņjakovs, Voldemārs Šoriņš, Ivars Puga, Kārlis Reijers, Daiga Gaismiņa, the Riga Cathedral Boys’ Choir. Director Klāvs Mellis, set designer Austra Sniķere, costume designer Berta Vilipsone, author of the dramatisation and song lyrics Klāvs Mellis, composer Ernests Mediņš. Mārtiņš Klišāns, conductor and artistic director of the Riga Cathedral Boys’ Choir.
LOAFing day in Sarkandaugava
8 August will be a day of loafing about in Sarkandaugava. To loaf about (‘loderēt’ in Latvian) means to wander about and laze around. In keeping with this Saturday atmosphere, visitors to the courtyard of the “eS14” community centre will be able to watch a mural dedicated to Sarkandaugava coming to life, explore the signs of time in the surrounding courtyards alongside street art researchers at breakfast time, take part in creative workshops at lunchtime, and in the evening, discuss current issues regarding the neighbourhood’s future, before joining the artists’ collective “Poetic Robotism” for the performance “The Time Orb of Sarkandaugava”.
The workshops, discussion and performance are accessible to people in wheelchairs and parents with prams. The entrance to the courtyard is at the rear of the building, through the courtyard gate. You can park your car in the car park at the front of the courtyard, entering from Sliežu Street. Facilities for wheelchair users and a nappy-changing table for small children are located on the ground floor of the buildings, whilst the entrance with a ramp is on the side of the building facing Sīmaņa Street.
Musical Park programmes
Linda Leen will open the “Riga Summer” music programme at Dzegužkalns Park on 5 August, inviting the audience to an emotionally rich summer evening. The concert will feature both audience favourite compositions from various stages of the artist’s career and her latest repertoire from her 2026 mini-album trilogy WAVES.
On 6 August, the concert “Recharge Through Dance” will kick off the ‘Riga Summer’ month with a splash of colour and dance rhythms in the park of the “Ziemeļblāzma” Cultural Centre, where “Rahu” will get the crowd moving in the blues-folk-grass dances and songs through their energetic acoustic performances, whilst “Nielslens Lielsliens” will lead the audience through stories told in dance.
Meanwhile, the musical group “Diskopauls”, formed with the blessing of Maestro Raimonds Pauls, will return to the stage at Vērmane Garden on 7 August with a revamped line-up and a programme specially expanded to mark the composer’s 90th birthday. The ensemble’s soloists Elza Rozentāle and Miķelis Putniņš will be joined by Aija Vītoliņa, forming a sparkling and vibrant trio of singers who, accompanied by a line-up of experienced musicians (Toms Mikāls – keyboards, Rūdolfs Dankfelds – drums, Kristians Priekulis – bass, Dāvis Jurka – wind instruments) will keep the audience dancing from the very first bar right through to the end of the concert.
More information about Riga Summer and birthday events is available on the website www.rigasvasara.lv, on the mobile app, as well as on the Riga City Council social media pages “Rīga” and “Rīgā notiek”.
Information was prepared by Ineta Miglāne, Project Coordinator of the External Communication Division of the Communication Department of the Riga City Municipality, e-mail: ineta.miglane@riga.lv