Saturday April 12th saw the return of VEMU Estonian Museum Canada's annual fundraising dinner, which donors attended in support of the museum's ongoing activities and the construction of a new, state-of-the-art museum building.
Together in a very full Tartu College event space, donors enjoyed a delectable Estonian-Italian fusion dinner prepared by Chef Kristina Lupp and her team. Highlights included the complex flavour profiles of a juniper braised lamb ravioli and the lovely textures of a must leib (black bread) tiramisù with spiced apple butter. Perhaps due to both cuisines' focus on maximizing fresh ingredients, the fusion came together in a cohesive and graceful way.
Part of the night's entertainment was provided Estonian actor Margus Tabor, the commanding storyteller behind the celebrated Mamma lood (“Grandma's Stories“) storytelling performance. With a voice, expressiveness, and character acting (side note: Tabor has lended his voice acting chops to the Estonian dub of the original Lion King animation and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water) that had people in stitches. Following this, Vabamu director Ivo Lille, who holds a Doctorate in Music from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, transported listeners with a soprano saxophone performance reminiscent of coastal sounds.
Over the course of the evening, attendees also paid tribute to architect Tõnu Altosaar on his receipt of the Order of Merit from the President of Estonia, as well as a major birthday for VEMU's Chief Archivist, Piret Noorhani.
As VEMU continues to expand its impact, the evening was representative of the bridge that the museum has built between the community here and the best of Estonian culture today.
Look below for a photographic recap of the evening.
Photos by Peeter Põldre, text by Vincent Teetsov
Fotogalerii
