Estonian Independence Day Picnic – Sydney

January 28, 2010

Estonian Independence Day Picnic – Sydney

Happy 92nd Birthday Estonia

Last year, the first Estonian Independence Day Picnic on Shark Island was a great success. We had around 100 participants, young and old, visitors from Estonia and life-long Aussies, everyone having a good time together.

This year, we know how to make it even better, so please join us at the 2nd Annual Shark Island Picnic on Wednesday, 24-FEB-2010.

We depart at 4.30 pm from Circular Quay, Wharf 6, on a chartered Capt. Cook Ferry. And the return departure from the Island is at sunset 7.45pm, to be back at Circular Quay by 8pm.

Want to meet someone famous?

We are proud to announce that this year’s celebrity guests joining the picnic, are four REALLY big name actors from Estonia: Helgi Sallo, Tõnu Aav, Ago-Endrik Kerge, and Marika Korolev. This is an exciting and rare opportunity to meet them off-stage/off-screen.

No need to miss work!

All you need to do is leave work early and catch the train that takes you to Circular Quay by 4.25pm.

Pricing and Conditions

Adult 16y and older … us$23.00
Child 5-15y … us$13.00
Child 4y or younger … FREE

Book your tickets online here – Estonian Independence Day Tickets

The registration site is located in the USA, and the payment is by credit card only, that is why the prices are in US dollars. To get the AU$ amount, just add 10% (for information only).
A small, third party, online booking fee is added to the above prices and collected by the online service provider.
Refunds for cancellations are possible until midday Monday 22 FEB only. 3rd party Booking Fees (as per order) and admin fees of $5 per adult ticket are deducted from the paid amounts before refunding.

The price includes…

private ferry transfers to and from the island
Estonian music on the island
National Park admission fees

Please note this is a BYO picnic and no catering is included. Everyone brings their own food and wine, just as you do with your normal picnics. Shark island has shelters, toilets and water, but no gas, electricity or BBQ.

More information on Shark Island is available here.

TERVE VALD OLI KOKKU AETUD, KÜLA KOKKU KUTSUTUD…

Do you want to be a part of our cultural history, while being patriotic and having fun at the same time? Then join us in attempting a new Southern Hemisphere Record in Mass Dancing of TULJAK – the iconic, hugely popular Estonian folk dance, guaranteed to put a smile on every Estonian face.

No need to take your national costume with you, but please watch this video (click on the button above) and learn the moves of this beautiful dance (if you don’t master it yet).

It may look simple, but it’s gets quite demanding towards the end. While the whole thing is good fun, please be serious in rehearsing at home, so we can all look good in the future video clip.

aivopeabkonet Estonian Independence Day Picnic Sydney

We at the Organising Committee are looking forward to seeing you all on Shark Island. But the space is limited and not everybody will be able to join us. Please book your tickets now to avoid dissappointment.

Loodan teid kõiki peatselt näha Haisaare piknikul, et ühiselt ja lõbusalt tähistada meie kodumaa 92. sünnipäeva!

Parimate tervitustega,
Aivo Takis
EV aukonsul Sydneys

Written by: kristi

Filed Under: News

Views: 554 views

Comments: 6

Tags: independence, picnic

Trackback URL: http://www.eesti.org.au/2010/01/28/estonian-independence-day-picnic-sydney/trackback/

Geoff

February 14, 2010 at 5:18 pm

Tere,

I’m just wondering why a website in the US is being used to take bookings?

Surely the majority of people who will be coming to Shark Island are currently living/travelling in Australia and are likely to have Australian bank accounts. I’m sure most, if not all Australian banks charge foreign currency conversion fees when buying things in US dollars. For me this will add an extra $5 or so to the ticket price.

There are local companies that will provide a service that is the same or similar such as:

- http://www.webticketing.com.au/
- http://www.greentix.com.au/

It’s possibly not to late to switch over to another company.

Regards,

Geoff Longhurst
Ingrid

March 2, 2010 at 3:54 pm

My sentiments exactly–could we be given an explanation re
why this method of payment has been chosen and who decided this….Also, I wish these Estonian gatherings(in Sydney,anyhow)would be more welcoming to new people attending various functions and not be so cliquey.It can be so daunting and offputting to come to these functions full of enthusiasm and interest to be met with unfrendliness and no real communication.
Kristi

March 2, 2010 at 6:51 pm

Geoff, thank you for the suggestions for the other ticketing websites. There was not an opportunity to switch this time, but I will definitely pass on this information so we can use an Australian site next time.

As you know, all these events are run on a non-profit basis by volunteers. The people organising the events decide on how they are to be run. We always welcome new volunteers to help out.

Ingrid, I am not sure at which event you had such a bad experience. I do encourage you to come along to events in the future. I have recently started Language classes with a bunch of people I had never met before and we are having a great time!
rex urmas rattur

March 5, 2010 at 12:10 pm

Hi

It was an enjoyable afternoon. time passed far too quickly. I met some 8-10 Estonians whom I had not met before. The Tartu people, the Haapsalu people and also a number whom I had before. If there had been more time, we could have met some more.

Some people came along with I expect ‘Estonian expectations’. A guy asked me for a glass, some shared our food and others shared our wine. So the lack of generosity of spirit must have been from contact with other people.

When I was in Estonia, I met a lot of non-friendly people. Non-friendly in the sense of having their formative years under communism. Noukogude motted, for which I held them to account by stating in Estonian that there was no place for such ideas in the Eesti Vabariik.

Other people, such as Neil – the publisher of Bradt Guides – talks about the cold personality of Estonians, as if the cold had permeated their souls. But Aussies in general are generous and tolerant, and we (the Estonians who live here) are Aussies too, and in that way are open-hearted and welcoming.