International Museum Day

On Saturday 16th May, Estonian museums will open their doors for visitors for a night of special events and exhibitions, celebrating the Night of Museums in Estonia for the seventh year running. In 2015, the Museum Night will take place under an umbrella theme of Music in the Night - or, in Estonian, Öös on muusikat. Last year, 84 000 people partcipated in Night of Museums, which was an all-time attendance record for the event.

The museums participating in the programme will open their doors from 6 pm to 11 pm and during this time the entrance will be free – in previous years the number on participating museums has been more than a hundred. Every year the participating number of archives, galleries, churces, organizations who deal with knowledge, history and memory has grown. Special programs for the Night of Museums have been in preparation since the beginning of the year and they will be available online April the latest.

Valga-Valka is the southern-most town in Estonia and despite its small size, the town straddles two countries, boasting two languages and cultures. Valga-Valka also has a rich history and a versatile cultural scene. Valga-Valka is a pearl waiting to be discovered.

In the south, Estonia shares a border with Latvia and here Valga town is split in half, the northern side, `Valga’, belongs to Estonia and `Valka’, on the southern side, belongs to Latvia. For years, this created a complicated situation where members of one family, even living on the same street, may have had different citizenships and had to go through customs and border guards in order to visit each other.

Fortunately, after both countries joined the Schengen zone, border points were removed and Valga-Valka is fast overcoming the separation issues.

The program in Valga Museum starts at 18 with an open-air concert: Valka Women`s Ensemble, Valga Chamber Choir, Youth Jazz Ensemble Man Da Riin.
Workshops: you can make bird whistle from clay, design your own museum badge, learn ancient Estonian songs and dances

Seeking games: find answers in exposition or find some landmarks in town (if You do it wright You find yourself in Valka Museum, Latvia).

The night ends with a concert of Valga Chamber Choir.