Männi Street Festival Brought the Community Together
The Männi Street Festival, held for the fifth time in Parksepa on September 7th, has mobilized the community to offer an exciting program in the center of the village with various activities for different target groups: workshops, competitions, lucky draws, culinary delights, and concerts.
The hot September Sunday brought a lot of participants, both young and old, to the jubilee-themed Männi Street Festival. "Every year we do better," said the festival's main organizer Kaisa Niilo. She noted that this year there were more workshops compared to previous years, and for the first time a lucky draw was held, titled "Parksepa Christmas Savings in a Sock." By buying tickets for the draw, participants contributed to the organization of the next major event, the Parksepa Christmas Rally.
Among the activities that have become a tradition, a baking competition took place during the festival, where both savory and sweet delicacies competed. A total of eight baked goods were brought to the competition, and participants at the festival could taste and rate them for two euros on tasting plates. The winner was the end-of-summer pie, made by Merilin Zeiger. The prize was 100 euros collected in the cash register from the tasting plates.
In celebration of the Estonian Book Year, a drawing competition of the critics' favorite fairy tale characters was organized, with 11 artists participating. The winner was declared to be Annabel, who drew the dog breed Lotte. The characters from Eno Raud's books, Sammalhabe and Sipsik, were present at the event, creating excitement among the participants.
Also as part of the Männi Street Festival celebrations, the first special Kahoot session of the Võru County Library season took place. 35 people participated in the game. The winner was Brianna Piigli, who achieved the best result and was the fastest responder.
The festival also featured a birthday area where visitors could buy and taste garden produce, soup, cotton candy, burgers, ice cream, and Sunday morning pancakes. In the workshops, under the guidance of Sigrid Plaks, plaster was poured and bags were painted under the leadership of the Võru County Library. Annika Rõngas braided braids for those interested, and the Parksepa Youth Center created glittering tattoos. Both children and adults sang on the steps of the Võru County Library with musician Kirsika Kuusik. Bubble blowing also provided a lot of fun.
Since September is the month of involvement in Võru County, festival participants had the opportunity to talk and share ideas in planning the cultural and youth center's activities for the year 2026. Their suggestions, opinions, and concerns were slowly written down at the events, but they were also shared verbally with both the organizers and the local area representatives running in the upcoming local government elections.
The event was organized by the Võru County Cultural and Youth Center, Võru County Library, MTÜ Kodukotus Parksepa, and the local community. The Männi Street Festival was supported by Võru County, Telliskivi Beauty Studio, Luukase Plant Nursery, Coop, Rahva Raamat (People's Book), Võrumaa Central Library, Nõiariik (Witch Country), Maarika Flower Arrangements, Jane Handicrafts, and Uuskasutuskeskus (Secondhand Center).
