Arizona Estonians gathered on Sunday February 25th in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa to celebrate Estonia’s independence. This is a tradition they have observed yearly since the mid 1970’s.
The event brought together over 30 people, a mix of Estonians and American family members mostly from the Phoenix area. The celebration was again hosted by Linda and Jim Abbott who have happily opened their home for this event for many years. Linda played the piano as we all sang the Estonian Anthem. We then proceeded to dine on a variety of home cooked traditional dishes such as blood sausage, sauerkraut soup, meat gelatin and smoked fish with a selection of traditional deserts. It is a great honor to carry on this tradition and we hope to continue meeting in the years to come.
Also to be noted is that Michael Chan who has performed admirably as the Estonian Honorary Consul for Phoenix, Arizona for the past several years, relocated to San Diego, California last spring. This February the positon of the Honorary Consul has been taken over by Steve Chucri, a distinguished member of the Phoenix area business and government community and is a member of the Maricopa County Supervisors.
Jim and Linda Abbott who hosted the event and Mr. Steve Chucri who is now the Estonian Honorary Consul for Phoenix, Arizona
Mr. Chucri attended the celebration and interacted with many of us looking forward to serve his new position with enthusiasm in promoting Estonia’s interests in Arizona.
Peter (Vaga) Feldmann