Aizpute invites to the Old Town Festival

22. April, 2026

On Saturday, May 2, as part of the “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027” programme, the second Aizpute Old Town Festival will take place, transforming the city’s historic centre into a joint cultural and social gathering, where people can come together, creative activities take shape, performances are staged, and all kinds of things find new owners.

At this year’s Aizpute Old Town Festival, the cycle of reusing items will once again play a key role – offering the chance to bring, exchange, find, and find new owners and a new life for items and plants. There will be a plant and item exchange point and a flea market. Visitors will also be welcomed by a homestead producers’ market, where shoppers will have the opportunity to purchase various farm-fresh goods, delicacies, and handmade crafts. Local Aizpute caterers will provide delicious snacks and meals during the festival.

As part of the Aizpute Old Town Festival, there will be an open-air painting plenary session featuring artists from Liepāja, bringing together members of the Liepāja Artists’ Association “Mākslas kolēģi” (Art Colleagues), who will work in various techniques – painting with oils, acrylics, watercolors, and pastels.

Visitors will have the opportunity to learn various new skills in creative workshops and activities—including a clog-making master class, a screen-printing, a wooden twig pen and brooch-making workshops. Various activities and entertainment, including pony rides, are also planned for the festival’s youngest visitors.

The Interdisciplinary Art Group SERDE will entertain visitors all day long with a season-opening program rich in activities, featuring traditional dye-making, key and lock restoration, wooden house repairs, restoration and upholstery of household furniture, pottery wheel throwing, a novuss board game workshop, an exhibition of traditional instruments, songs, stories, and other creative activities.

The audience will be entertained by a musical performance featuring students from the Aizpute Music School, the Otaņķi Ethnographic Ensemble, and the capella group “Lēnām pār tiltu”.

More information on Aizpute Old Town Festival: aizpute2040.lv

The festival is organized by the Aizpute Renaissance Society and the municipality of South Kurzeme. The Aizpute Old Town Festival is being organized as part of the Liepāja – European Capital of Culture 2027 programme.

The project “Liepāja – European Capital of Culture” is implemented by the foundation “Nodibinājums Liepāja 2027” with funding provided by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, the City of Liepāja, and the municipalities of South Kurzeme and Kuldīga. The Liepāja 2027 programme is supported by its main partner in environmental education and sustainability, AS “CleanR Grupa” JSC; its main partner in mobility and international communication, AS “airBaltic Corporation” JSC; and its mobility partner, transport operator SIA “Lux Express Latvia” Ltd.