Wandering Lights Festival Turns 20
Text Stewart Johnson Photo Andrei Chertkov
In the middle of September, when the nights are fully dark once more, Kadriorg Park in Tallinn will light up the night sky with its amazing annual light festival, called the Wandering Lights. From 16–19 September, the city will celebrate 20 years of what’s called “Valgus kõnnib” in Estonian, which translates directly as “Light walks”. From 20:00 until 23:00 each night, the festival will be open to the public, and for free!
This year’s theme is “Glow of Shadows”, and the organisers describe it as a “living canvas filled with light performances and installations exploring the interplay of light and shadow”. In less artsy words, it basically just means there will be a lot of light installations, which are beautiful in their own right, without the need for any poetic descriptions. Wink, wink…
Some of the light installations are designed to enhance already existing structures, while others create their own unique environments. These include the Apollo structure in the park, Codex Pyramids, Pixel Art in front of the Presidential Palace, a Matrix display featuring lasers, the Luminos Tower, which will be ten meters tall, and many more located throughout the park.
Words of advice to anyone interested: this is a very popular event, so expect a lot of people. While the Wandering Lights Festival is indeed a spectacle to behold, the crowds can often make many of the light installations difficult to see, as they are quite often based on the ground.
The full programme is available on the City of Tallinn’s website in English here.
To learn more about this and similar topicsArt Events in Tallinn Kadriorg Park Light Installation Presidential Palace Valgus Kõnnib Wandering Lights Wandering Lights Festival
