Latvian music festival to offer song, dance, folklore next year

GRAND RAPIDS — It’s an unprecedented international event attracting thousands from across the globe.

When Grand Rapids hosts the Latvian Song & Dance Festival next July, it will mark a historic milestone not only for a city hosting this spectacle for the first time, but for West Michigan’s Latvian community, which has long honored and embraced its musical, artistic and cultural heritage.

“This festival represents the most beautiful of song, dance, costume, performers, artists, authors, creatives, folklore groups and theater that our culture has to offer. It is a celebration of our past and our heritage,” said Aleksis Vizulis, marketing co-director of the festival that will take place July 1-5 at several different Grand Rapids venues, including Van Andel Arena, DeVos Performance Hall, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel and GLC Live at 20 Monroe.

“The Song and Dance Festival remains one of, if not the only, major Latvian events that hasn’t been hosted in West Michigan and we are excited to change that and welcome Latvians from far and wide — from as far as Latvia and Brazil — to our wonderful city. We know the city will be a great host. The excellent selection of venues, the walkability, the cleanliness and affordability all play a big role in our excitement of showcasing what Grand Rapids has to offer.”

Festival events will include a downtown parade to the official opening at Rosa Parks Circle, choir and dance concerts featuring traditional costumes and Latvian music at various venues, a grand ball, a concert at GLC Live at 20 Monroe with two contemporary Latvian bands (country/Schlager and hip hop) and a climactic “Grand Folk Dance Concert” at Van Andel Arena featuring hundreds of traditional dancers.

The festival will open with a pre-party reception in Grand Rapids on July 1, with a performance by New York jazz duo Gingersnap founded by a Latvian singer-violinist. The festival will also feature a market and Latvian art exhibit.

“The Song and Dance Festival is the uppermost cultural masterpiece of our people that has stood the test of time,” the festival’s official description proclaims. “It has become a nationally and internationally significant event which calls together and unites Latvians worldwide, bringing together generations and ethnicities.”

Tickets went on sale Monday, Dec. 15. View the full schedule and get tickets for the various festival events online at dziesmusvetki.us. Prices range from $25 to $85, depending on the event. Some attractions are free.

More than 500 of the 1,474 dancers, singers and entertainers set to perform at the festival will travel to Grand Rapids from Latvia, according to Anda Vizulis, president of the festival organizing committee. Sixteen of the performers will come from Brazil, which boasts about 25,000 residents of Latvian ancestry.

The last U.S. edition of the Latvian Song & Dance Festival was held in St. Paul, Minn., in 2022. Latvia stages a mammoth Song & Dance Festival every five years, with the 2023 event attracting an estimated 500,000 visitors over 12 days.

“While the Latvian Song & Dance Festival has deep roots in the Midwest, it has never been held in Michigan, which otherwise has an extremely strong presence in the Latvian community, especially with Three Rivers being home to the biggest Latvian camp in North America (Garezers),” Aleksis Vizulis said.

“Over the last decade or so, Grand Rapids has hosted other large Latvian events like the Master Games (a sports tournament) and the American Latvian Youth Association’s annual Congress. That being said, Grand Rapidians have always traveled and participated in Song and Dance Festivals hosted elsewhere.”

Michigan is home to more than 4,200 people of Latvian heritage (most of them in the Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo area), making it among the top states with the highest Latvian-American populations. Many Latvian immigrants arrived in the state from Europe after World War II to escape Soviet oppression.

Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania comprise the Baltic countries, which were once occupied by Russian forces during World War II and forced into the Soviet Union. Latvia celebrated its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Grand Rapids festival is also offering a wide assortment of merchandise to commemorate the 2026 event.

— Find more Michigan music news and concert listings online at LocalSpins.com. Email John Sinkevics at john@localspins.com.