Õige jutt - lisaks sellele, et osalemine üritustel on ka tähtis. VA aktusel nägin ainult 7 EKN liiget. Arvestades, et ca 6 elavad kaugemal nagu Vancouveris, Ottawas ja Montrealis, kus olid ülejäänud 24? Kas Vabariigi Aastapäeva aktus pole piisavalt oluline?

Well written.

"jah ja veel"
Did you count the one in the orchester? One lives in Windsor, not sure how you classify his distance as it's farther than Ottawa. Still it's a low number, but what about the general Estonian public in Toronto, why aren't they coming out. Personally I could have made it out but stayed home due a bed-ridden spouse.

The same holds true for all Estonian events. Suvihari has become a fair weather fan activity. Once upon a time we'd see cars from Chicago, Baltimore, NYC, Montreal etc. Now we can barely get them from Toronto.

The numbers are down at Suvehari in Seedrioru,( lions, tigers and bears oh my.....) because the juhatus has decided to move the event to the weekend before July long weekend. In the old days, we had a lot more US participation because of the long weekend! That extra travel day helps.
In fact, many Estonian heritage cottage owners have cottage parties on the long weekend which would interfere with this once a year summer Estonian cultural event. It always comes down to priorities.
A good friend of mine Jaan Schaer , explained to me one day, what has happened in the last 50 years. "The WE generation has transformed into the ME generation."
The $30.00 PER HEAD entrance fee is a bit steep especially for the students and single day use participants.
Let's beat the drum slowly in memory of times long past. Like the buffalo herds and Indian tribes in the mid-1800's. We were many but now we are few, like the leaves on a tree before winter comes. And yes, winter is coming.......

lp. hr. Järve

The weekends have been changed to accommodate Esto 72, 76 laulupidu in Eesti etc etc. and to accommodate Seedrioru laager which is the most important aspect of the facility.

The quote you attribute to Hr. Schaer is probably the most accurate one I've heard.

$30 is not a steep price IMHO. As 100% of the gate goes to the benefit of the camp.

Dear Curious,
Are you telling me that 50-60 participants at suvelaager outweigh 400-500 participants at Suvehari?
Let's do the math:
Assuming 50 each week of camp.
50 participants @$400 x 4 weeks= $80,000

versus
(assume 300 paying customers, the others are volunteers.)
300 particpants @ $30 = $9,000

Financially you are correct.
The suvelaager is a stronger revenue stream. 9 times greater than Suvehari.
BUT ...... and it is a big BUT..... what about the cultural impact and community involvement.
The suvehari event brings in 6 times more people than suvelaager.
I think that both events are valuable and important to the Estonian communities at large in North America.
I would not value one event over another, but dedicate the same amount of frugality, acumen and strategic planning to all events.
It is critical also to not let the financial viabilities cloud over cultural values and community sustainability issues.
We need leadership that can see the horizon line, see the big picture, the greater good. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Hr. Järve,

Please review the attached document. Seedrioru was not established to have an annual summer bash but as a camp for children of Estonian heritage to promote and foster Estonian culture. Suvihari is a mechanism to help fund the camp.

Please review the following

http://seedrioru.com/wp/wp-con...

Especially the second regulation.

Dear George,
Thank you for the 1995 amended version of the original 1968 document. It would be interesting in an objective sense to view the original 1968 document for content and historical perspective.