Digital Newspaper

The Christmas market on Tallinn’s Town Hall Square opened on November 21. It is like a winter fairytale land – the square is decorated with a sparkling Christmas tree and surrounded by small wooden huts. These offer everything from Christmas goods and gifts to food and drinks. Strolling through the...

Dear Council Member Keith Powers, dear President of the Estonian House Carl Skonberg, dear community representatives, ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here to honor the legacy of Estonian diplomat Mr Ernst Jaakson. He who represented Estonia in New York from 1932 until 1998, until his passing. He was recognized...

Ernst Jaakson is not only a historical figure. For Estonian diplomats, he stands as one of the towering personalities of our foreign service – a man with a moral compass many could envy. His life story is something that could only emerge from the combination of a person deeply committed...

In his narrative nonfiction masterpiece, “In the Garden of Beasts,” Erik Larson writes about the rise of Hitler in 1933-34. He delves into the life of the new American ambassador in Berlin, William Dodd, who slowly comes to realize that something treacherous is afoot. Even though Dodd and a few...

The Washington Estonian Society (WES) has been keeping busy this fall! On Sunday, October 19, 2025, more than thirty Estonians and friends came together for our annual hike and social outing at Sugarloaf Mountain’s Stronghold recreation area. The day couldn’t have been more perfect — blue skies, warm air, and...

Estonian jewelry artist Claudia Lepik will present her striking work at the Endless Light Ceremony during NYC Jewelry Week 2025 on November 20 (2–8 PM) at Flux Lumina Studio, 154 E 2nd Street, New York. Known for pushing the boundaries of jewelry through scale, form, and material, Lepik explores the...

A few days after submitting last month’s Vaba Eesti Sõna article (“Baltic Security Initiative Update: To Be or Not to Be?”) about the endangerment to the BSI, there were positive developments, this time coming from the United States Senate. By a vote of 77-20 on October 9, the Senate passed...

The 8th New York Baltic Film Festival returns to Scandinavia House (58 Park Avenue, NYC) from November 5–9, 2025, with a U.S. virtual program running November 10–16. The festival plays a vital role in bringing the voices of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to an international audience. As the leading Baltic...

Lembit Beecher’s new composition for string quartet – Cassette Dreams of the Singing Revolution – will be premiered by the Houston-based Apollo Chamber Players as part of their program ENLIGHTEN on November 15. The work is Lembit’s reflection on the nonviolent uprising in the Baltic Countries during the ’80s and...

In late 2021, I made a shocking discovery: My local Syrian baklava shop in Providence, Rhode Island had a Latvian Auseklis motif in its logo. As a Latvian-Estonian-American, I had to investigate. I walked into the store, ordered some baklava, and asked staff behind the counter: “What star is this?”...